S’pore population rises 1.6% to 6.21 million, driven by construction workers for projects like T5

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s population has risen to 6.21 million as at June 2026, up from 6.11 million the year before.

The increase of 1.6 per cent was driven by more construction workers for key infrastructure projects such as Changi Terminal 5 and the ramp up of housing supply, said the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) on Sept 25.

Meanwhile, the citizen population increased by 0.7 per cent to 3.68 million in June 2026, from 3.66 million in June 2025, said the NPTD in its annual Population in Brief 2026 report. 

Singapore’s permanent resident population remained relatively stable at 0.55 million in June 2026, the report added. 

In 2025, 25,094 were granted citizenship and another 35,352 individuals granted permanent residency, it added.

The average number of citizenships and permanent residencies granted per year from 2021 to 2025 rose compared to the five years before, it said.

In that time, Singapore granted an average of 22,400 citizenships and 34,600 permanent residencies, compared with an average of 20,600 citizenships and 31,200 permanent residencies between 2016 and 2020.

The non-resident population increased by 3.7 per cent to 1.98 million in June 2026 from 1.91 million in June 2025.

The increase came primarily from work permit holders and migrant domestic workers, the report added.

Foreign employment growth in Singapore was higher over the period of June 2025 to June 2026, compared to June 2024 to June 2025, primarily due to increases in the number of work pass holders, it said.

The report said Singapore’s non-resident population, which includes these two groups, is diverse and that its size and composition vary over time to support the country’s “evolving economic and social needs”.

Today, the foreign workforce, not including migrant domestic workers, makes up about two-thirds of the non-resident population, while the remaining one-third comprises mainly migrant domestic workers, dependents, and students, it added.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s citizen population continued to age, it said.

Singaporeans aged 65 and above now form more than a fifth of the citizen population at 21.4 per cent. This is up from 13.7 per cent 10 years ago.

The number of citizens aged 80 and above also increased by 60 per cent compared to a decade ago.

Singapore now has 152,000 people aged 80 and above, up from 95,000 in 2016, the report said.

The country’s annualised population growth rate between 2021 and 2026 was higher than the preceding five-year period between 2016 and 2021, the report noted.

“This was in part influenced by Covid-19 which contributed to a lower total population base in 2021 and subsequent higher growth registered on average over 2021 to 2026,” it said.