Singapore citizen births in 2015 highest in over a decade; population rises 1.3% to 5.61m

THERE were 33,725 citizen births in Singapore in 2015, the highest number in over a decade and more than the 33,200 in the last Year of the Dragon in 2012. Citizen births refer to babies born to at least one parent who is Singaporean.

The resident total fertility rate (TFR) remained stable at 1.24 last year, with slight improvements in the TFR year on year for Malays (1.73 to 1.79) and Indians (1.13 to 1.15).

These figures were released by the government's National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) on Tuesday in its latest Population in Brief report, which gives updates and trends on Singapore's population.

Overall, the country's total population grew by 1.3 per cent from June 2015 to June 2016 to reach 5.61 million.

The citizen population grew at a similar pace as last year, with 3.41 million citizens as at the end of June 2016. The NPTD attributed this to citizen births and a calibrated approach to immigration.

The citizen population is also getting older, with 13.7 per cent aged 65 and above compared with 13.1 per cent last year. The permanent resident population, meanwhile, remained stable at 0.52 million.

There were 23,805 citizen marriages in 2015, higher than this decade's average of about 21,900.

The non-resident population grew by 2.5 per cent to 1.67 million. The NPTD noted the stronger growth in the number of foreign domestic workers and dependants of Singaporeans who are on long-term visit passes.