section_path: Demographics
section_name: Demographics
paragraph_text: Demographics
  
  As of mid-2023, the estimated population of Singapore was 5,917,600, of whom 3,610,700 (61.6%) were citizens and the remaining 2,306,900 (38.4%) were either permanent residents (522,300) or international students, foreign workers, or dependants (1,644,500). The overall population increased 5% from the prior year, driven largely by foreign workers. According to the country's most recent census in 2020, nearly one in four residents (citizens and permanent residents) was foreign born; including non-residents, roughly 43% of the total population was born abroad. This proportion is largely unchanged from the 2010 census.
  
  The 2020 census reported that about 74.3% of residents were of Chinese descent, 13.5% of Malay descent, 9.0% of Indian descent, and 3.2% of other descent (such as Eurasian); this proportion was virtually identical to the 2010 census, with slight increases among Chinese and Malay (0.2% and 0.1% respectively) and minor decreases in Indian and others (0.2% and 0.1%). Prior to 2010, each person could register as a member of only one race, by default that of his or her father; therefore, mixed-race persons were solely grouped under their father's race in government censuses. From 2010 onward, people may register using a multi-racial classification, in which they may choose one primary race and one secondary race, but no more than two.
  
  Like other developed countries in Asia, Singapore experienced a rapid decline in its total fertility rate (TFR) beginning in the 1980s. Since 2010, its TFR has largely plateaued at 1.1 children per woman, which is among the lowest in the world and well below the 2.1 needed to replace the population. Consequently, the median age of Singaporean residents is among the highest in the world, at 42.8 in 2022 compared to 39.6 ten years earlier. Starting in 2001, the government introduced a series of programs to increase fertility, including paid maternity leave, childcare subsidies, tax relief and rebates, one-time cash gifts, and grants for companies that implement flexible work arrangements; nevertheless, live births have continued to decline, hitting a record low in 2022. Singapore's immigration policy is designed to alleviate the decline and maintain its working-age population.
  
  91% of resident households (i.e. households headed by a Singapore citizen or permanent resident) own the homes they live in, and the average household size is 3.43 persons (which include dependants who are neither citizens nor permanent residents). However, due to scarcity of land, 78.7% of resident households live in subsidised, high-rise, public housing apartments developed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). Also, 75.9% of resident households live in properties that are equal to, or larger than, a four-room (i.e. three bedrooms plus one living room) HDB flat or in private housing. Live-in foreign domestic workers are quite common in Singapore, with about 224,500 foreign domestic workers there, as of December 2013.