Tampines is Singapore’s most populous planning area, but Punggol and Sengkang are growing faster

SINGAPORE – Tampines is Singapore’s most populous planning area for the third consecutive year, but the north-east towns of Sengkang and Punggol are growing faster.

Tampines had 296,060 citizens and permanent residents in June 2026, ahead of Bedok (272,120), Sengkang (265,830), Woodlands (255,280) and Jurong West (250,890). Punggol was in the eighth position with 204,490 residents.

The figures were included in the second edition of the Statistics Singapore Newsletter, published by the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) on Oct 28.

Although Tampines has been the most populous since 2024, it is not among the top 10 fastest-growing planning areas.

Sengkang grew faster than Tampines over the past decade, at 1.9% a year on average, compared with about 1.3% for Tampines. It added 46,450 residents – compared with 36,950 for Tampines – and rose from sixth place in 2016 to third in 2026.

Neighbouring Punggol grew 4.6% a year and entered the top 10 most populous planning areas in 2026, adding 74,110 to the 130,380 residents it had in 2016.

Among the areas SingStat ranked, Punggol’s growth rate was second only to Downtown Core, the central business district, where growth was partly due to a boundary change.

The other large area that grew faster than Tampines is Bukit Batok (1.8%), which has ranked as the 10th most populous area since 2021. It had 165,680 residents as at June 2026.

The geographical distribution was based on the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Master Plan 2025, which divides Singapore into 55 planning areas that may differ from how people commonly perceive neighbourhoods.

For instance, the Paya Lebar planning area, which largely comprises Paya Lebar Air Base, has only 20 residents based on the 2026 figures. Homes near Paya Lebar MRT station fall within the Geylang planning area, which has 121,350 residents.

Tampines, which was developed as a Housing Board town in the early 1980s, had 259,110 residents in 2016. It was third then, behind Bedok and Jurong West, and has since overtaken both as their populations shrank.

In addition, Tampines now has a higher share of children aged below 15 than many planning areas. In 2026, it ranked eighth for the proportion of residents under 15 (14.9%), up from outside the top 10 in 2016.

The newer towns have the highest proportions of children below 15. Tengah recorded the highest proportion (20.3%), followed by Punggol (19.6%). Sengkang was sixth at 16.3%.

The data also shows that residents in Outram are the oldest on average, with 28.9% of residents aged 65 and above, and a median age of 50.

In Outram, Ang Mo Kio, Jurong East, Bukit Merah and Rochor, more than one in four residents were elderly.

In its newsletter, SingStat said Singapore’s population growth had been accompanied by changes in the demographic and socio-economic characteristics across the planning areas.

“The development of new housing estates, the ageing of older areas and shifting profiles of planning areas reflect Singapore’s dynamic geographical transformation,” said the agency.