Singapore's total population set a new record at 5.92 million as at June this year, an increase of 5 per cent from the year before, the annual Population in Brief (PIB) publication reported on Friday (Sept 29).

Last year, the total population rose for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, to 5.64 million.

The publication by the National Population and Talent Division and partner agencies said: "Taking into account the decline in total population in 2020 and 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the average total population growth rate over the past five years was comparable to the preceding five-year period."

The total population in the city-state in 2019, before the pandemic hit, was 5.7 million. In the two years following, many countries (including Singapore) closed their borders to stem the spread of the coronavirus. This led to a dip in the total population to 5.45 million in 2021.

The Singapore citizen population rose by 1.6 per cent year on year in June to 3.61 million; the permanent resident (PR) population rose 3.7 per cent to 540,000 over the same period.

The PIB report said the largest contributing factor was the easing of travel restrictions related to Covid-19, which led to more citizens and PRs returning to Singapore.

As at June, there were 205,200 overseas Singaporeans, an increase of 10.4 per cent from the year before.

Meanwhile, non-resident population grew 13.1 per cent to 1.77 million as at June this year.

The increase was across all pass types, said PIB. The largest increase came from work permit holders in the construction, marine shipyard and process (CMP) sectors, as contractors hired more workers to catch up on projects that were delayed by Covid-19.

CMP work permit holders made up the largest proportion among non-residents, at 24 per cent. This was followed by non-CMP work permit holders at 20 per cent, dependants of citizens, PRs and work pass holders at 16 per cent, and migrant domestic workers at 15 per cent. Employment Pass holders constituted 11 per cent, while S Pass holders accounted for 10 per cent. The remaining 4 per cent were students.

Singapore's population continued to age rapidly, with lower fertility rates and longer life expectancies.

The proportion of the population aged 65 and above was 19.1 per cent as at June, compared with 18.4 per cent a year earlier. In June 2013, the figure was 11.7 per cent. Citizen median age crept up to 43, up from 42.8 in June last year. Ten years ago, it was 40.

For the whole of 2022, there were 30,429 citizen births, 4 per cent lower than the year before. However, the number of marriages involving at least one citizen rose to a record high of 24,767, increasing for the second consecutive year since 2020, when the number fell due to the pandemic.

However, PIB noted that the annual average number of citizen marriages in the last five years, at 22,700, remained lower than that of the preceding five years at 23,600.

This article was first published in The Business Times. Permission required for reproduction.