Singapore's population growth slows down to 1.1% in 2010-20 decade

Singapore's population grew at its lowest pace in the 2010-2020 decade at 1.1 per cent every year, a slowdown from 2.5 per cent annually in the preceding decade, according to a media report on Wednesday.

The population data was released by the Department of Statistics (DOS) in its first statistical release from the 2010-2020 census, the Channel News Asia reported.

"It tells us where we were, where we're at now, and identifies some of the things that we need to address going forward," said Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah, who oversees the National Population and Talent Division.

Though some of the data will be affected as the survey was done amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Rajah said the census captures "broad trends over the decade notwithstanding the blips over the last one and a half years".

The total population increased from 5.08 million in 2010 to 5.69 million in 2020. Within this, the citizen population grew from 3.23 million to 3.52 million, while the permanent resident population remained "stable" at around 0.5 million, it added.

The number of non-residents rose from 1.31 million to 1.64 million.

Twenty per cent of Singapore residents had no religious affiliation in 2020, a slight increase from the 17 per cent a decade before, according to the census.

The findings were for Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 15 and above.

Among those who identified with a certain religion, Buddhists form the largest group at 31.1 per cent, followed by Christians at 18.9 per cent and Muslims at 15.6 per cent in 2020.

Residents who identified themselves as Taoists stood at 8.8 per cent in 2020, while Hindus were 5 per cent.

Compared to a decade ago, there were more Christians and Muslims in 2020, but a lower proportion of Taoists and Buddhists.

The proportion of Hindus, as well as those who practice other religions, remained largely the same.

More households are using English as the language most frequently spoken at home, said the report.

Among residents aged five and above in 2020, 48.3 per cent spoke English most frequently at home, up from 32.3 per cent in 2010.

Of those who spoke English most frequently at home, about 87 per cent also spoke a vernacular language in the same setting, the census noted.

In 2020, almost half of all respondents said English was the language they used most frequently at home.

The census of population, conducted once every 10 years, is the largest national survey undertaken in Singapore to collect statistics such as demographic, social and economic data.

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