Immigration in Singapore

Have been living in Singapore for 2 years, I've met a great number of Chinese immigrants as well as immigrants from other countries, such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. After studying the "Population Geography" chapter this term, I was always wondering the current status of foreign immigration in Singapore.


Spanning 42 kilometers from east to west and 23 kilometers north to south, Singapore is a small yet densely populated city. According to the SingStat (Department of Statistics of Singapore), the population has reached 5.076 million as of the year 2010, including 3.2 million of Singapore Citizens, and 0.541 million Permanent Residents.  

According to the 2009 United Nations Development Report, Singapore has the highest immigration rate in Asia Pacific after Hong Kong. Migrants make up 35% of the population in Singapore. Singapore has a long history of encouraging foreign workers and so most of the problems of relocating and settling in have already been anticipated and solved. 

There are two major reasons behind the high immigration rate in Singapore as well as the government policy on immigration: low TFR and competition in attracting highly skilled immigrants.

A landmark study on future population growth and change for Singapore was published earlier this month, states that Singapore's resident population will decline and become extremely aged if the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is extremely low and if there is no immigration. The study said with TFR at 1.24 births per woman and zero net immigration, Singapore's population will decline to 3.03 million in 2050. Even if Singapore's total fertility rate rises from the current 1.15 to 1.85, the total population will decline, without immigration. The number of working people available to support elderly person is also set to drop. The study also projected the number of young people under 14 years of age will go down by more than half from 699,000 in 2005 to 274,400 by 2050.

The immigration debate is becoming more often in many countries especially the US, UK and Australia. The anti-foreigner sentiment, capping the the number of immigrants and making it harder to obtain a worker visa, all these tougher immigration rules are driving out highly skilled immigrants and discouraging foreign talents from building their careers and businesses in those countries. At the same time, Singapore is adopting a much opener style in facing the competition of foreign talents. Mr. Lee Hisen Loong, the Prime Minister, commented on the importance of staying open to foreign talent: "Because we need talent, we need to gain talent. It makes a tremendous difference to us doing critical work in our economy, helping Singapore to become an outstanding city...We need reinforcements to grow our economy and create better jobs for Singaporeans. The foreign workers supplement our ranks and enable us to build successful companies."

As a foreign student myself, I appreciate Singapore government's effort in welcoming foreign talent. I hope that after my graduation, I could work here and contribute to the economy.