8 Ways COVID-19 Has Changed S’pore’s Population

Yes, you’ve heard it before; COVID-19 changes things.

Other than a new accessory to add to our wardrobe, the sudden generosity of our government, and the non-usage of our passports, are there any other distinctive changes to Singapore and our everyday lives?

Well, here are 8 changes in Singapore’s population that’ll ultimately affect us, and it’s mainly because of COVID-19 restrictions

1. Drop in Overall Population in S’pore

For the second year in a row, Singapore is experiencing a drop in the overall population.

It fell from 5.69 million in 2020 to 5.45 million as of June 2021.

This is the third time Singapore’s population fell, and the 4.1% drop is the largest in Singapore’s history.

Factors affecting the overall population in Singapore include:

• Non-resident population
• Citizen population
• Marriages
• Birth rates

Here’s how they were affected during this year of ups and downs.

2. Drop in Citizen Marriage Rate

I’m pretty sure you, or one of your friends, have experienced this before.

You happily set a date for your wedding banquet and ROM, only to be hit with the news that only half of your invitees are allowed into the wedding hall.

So you push it back because you want everyone to join in on your special day.

Then, restrictions are eased and you happily set a date, only to have new measures introduced.

ARGH.

Well, you’re not alone, and in 2020, 19,430 citizen marriages took place; this is a 12.3% drop from the previous year where 22,165 marriages took place.

The largest drop was, of course, in Q2 when we realised Circuit Breaker isn’t just a utility box in your home, but something that practically put a pause button on your life.

3. Fewer Transnational Marriages

Transnational marriages basically mean a Singapore citizen marrying a non-Singaporean and that, too, saw a huge drop in 2020.

In 2019, 37% of citizen marriages were transnational marriages (yes, some of you might be surprised at how many are marrying overseas); this dropped to 30% in 2020.

The reason could be attributed to the upgraded travel restrictions last year.

Inter-ethnic marriages, on the other hand, only dropped slightly from 19% to 17%.

4. Lower Birth Rate

COVID-19 doesn’t just affect couples getting together; it also affects the number of new lives brought into this country.

In 2020, 31,816 citizen births happened in Singapore; that’s a 3.1% drop compared to 2019 where 32,844 cute Singaporean babies were popped out.

According to the statistic, the greatest drop was in the last three months of 2020.

Since babies normally take 9 months to form and say hello to the world, it was concluded that they were conceived in the January to February period, around the beginning of the nightmare known as COVID-19.

In other words, parents might have postponed their parenthood plan because, as we know very well now, no one knows what will happen during COVID-19.

This brings us to the next point.

5. An Ageing Population

If you’re a Singaporean and you’ve been paying attention to all the parliament debates, you’re more than familiar with this term.

Basically, it means that fewer babies are being born compared to the number of people growing old in Singapore; which, you can probably tell by what is written before this point.

In 2021, the proportion of citizens aged 65 and above rose to 17.6% compared to 10.4% in 2011.

By 2030, the proportion is expected to grow to 23.8%.

On the other hand, the proportion of citizens aged between 20 and 64 dropped from 65% in 2011 to 62% this year.

6. Drop in Non-Resident Population

Now, if you’ve heard about Singapore’s infamous 10-Million Population (not true, of course), you’d know the government’s solution to the ageing population.

Unfortunately, that plan derailed with COVID-19, with the non-resident population dropping by 10.7% to 1.47 million.

As you’d have guessed, travel restrictions, the tightening of foreign work passes and overall economic uncertainty led to a drop in foreign employment.

The drop was spread out across all work passes, with the greatest affected being work passes in the construction, marine and processes sector.

7. Drop in Citizens and Permanent Residents

Due to travel restrictions, more citizens and permanent residents remained outside of Singapore for 12 months and more.

Citizens and PRs who stayed out of Singapore for more than 12 months will no longer be counted among the resident population.

This translates to a 0.7% drop in the citizen population to 3.5 million and a 6.2% decrease in the permanent resident population to 490,000.

8. Fewer New Citizens & PRs

2020 also saw a decrease in the number of new citizens and permanent residents; 21,085 individuals were given Singapore citizenship while 27,470 were given PR status.

About 6% (1,344) are overseas children born to Singaporean parents, a drop from the previous year.

The decrease was attributed to the limited slots available for individuals to complete their final steps for the Singapore citizen and PR application process.

According to the National Population and Talent Division, which was responsible for compiling the report, there are some applicants who are approved in principle but did not manage to complete the process this year.

And There You Go

Eight changes to Singapore population that we’ll be feeling for years to come, especially since it seems like it’ll be a while before COVID-19 becomes endemic.

Meanwhile, SDP, which was distressed at how the government has handled COVID-19 here so far, has presented an “eight-point” exit strategy for Singapore; one of which asks for “blanket closures” to be removed.

Instead, the policymakers should target the ones that are affected and leave those unaffected alone.

You can read about that in full here.

Read Also:

• SDP Reveals Alternate Plan to Tackle COVID-19; Suggestions Include Doing Away with ‘Blanket Closure & Restrictions’
• Lawrence Wong: Decision to Implement New Measures is a ‘Very Difficult One’

Feature Image: Miguel Vidal/ Shutterstock.com