From top, left to right: Jurong West New Town, Jurong West Park, Jurong West Primary School, Jurong West Public Library, Jurong West Secondary School, Jurong West Town Centre.
Jurong West originated from the area once called Peng Kang,[7] named after the gambier plantations along Sungei Jurong.[8] By the mid-20th century, the area was home to several brickworks, palm oil plantations and nurseries.[9] At that time, the only public housing estates in Jurong West were Boon Lay and Taman Jurong.[10] Jurong West was largely left alone until 1984, when the HDB began conceptualisation for a new town in Jurong West.[11] Jurong West was carved into nine subzones that would house a total of 94,000 public and private housing units in the long term.[12][3]
The town's first apartment blocks (known locally as flats) were completed at Taman Jurong in 1963.[13][14] By November 2004, about 71,522 dwelling units were completed.[15] As of 31 March 2018, there are 74,301 HDB dwelling units in Jurong West.[16]
A landed housing estate in Yunnan, with Wenya in the foreground.
Demographics
As of 2024, the most populous subzone in Jurong West is Yunnan with 66,560 residents, closely followed by Jurong West Central with 61,900 residents, while Chin Bee, Kian Teck and Safti are completely unpopulated.[2] Packed into an area of 9.87km2 (3.81sqmi), of which 4.8km2 (1.9sqmi) are designated as residential areas, Jurong West has a population density of 26,000people per km2 (68,000 per mi2).[1]
The data below is from the population report published by the Singapore Department of Statistics in June 2024.[2]
Age group (years)
Males
Females
Total population
% of total population
0–4
4,520
4,290
8,810
3.42
5–9
6,020
5,530
11,550
4.49
10–14
6,750
6,600
13,350
5.19
15–19
7,680
7,370
15,050
5.85
20–24
8,370
7,890
16,260
6.32
25–29
9,130
8,740
17,870
6.94
30–34
9,110
9,110
18,220
7.08
35–39
8,280
9,120
17,400
6.76
40–44
9,120
10,280
19,400
7.53
45–49
9,850
10,130
19,980
7.76
50–54
10,100
9,850
19,950
7.75
55–59
9,810
9,410
19,220
7.47
60–64
9,370
8,730
18,100
7.03
65–69
8,140
8,180
16,320
6.34
70–74
6,240
6,300
12,540
4.87
75–79
3,550
3,700
7,250
2.82
80–84
1,580
2,070
3,650
1.42
85–89
720
990
1,710
0.66
90+
240
650
890
0.35
Age group (years)
Males
Females
Total population
% of total population
0–14
17,290
16,420
33,710
13.09
15–64
90,820
90,630
181,450
70.47
65+
20,470
21,890
42,360
16.45
Population pyramid of Jurong West in 2024
The population distribution of Jurong West in 2024 demonstrates a mature population structure. There is a higher population concentration among middle-aged groups, with the highest concentration of residents between 45 to 49 years old at 7.76%. Specifically, the male population peaks at the 50-54 age range at 3.92%, and the female population peaks at the 40-44 age range at 3.99%.
Household
As of 2024, there were 234,210 people living in HDB flats, representing 91.0% of the population. This is significantly higher than the national proportion of HDB dwellers (76.3%),[2] reflecting a greater prevalence of public housing in the area. This makes Jurong West have the second highest proportion of HDB dwellers among all planning areas in Singapore, behind Woodlands.
Among the population, 98,510 residents, or 38.3% of the population, live in 5-Room and Executive HDB Flats, making it the most common type of dwelling. 17,900 residents (6.95%) live in condominiums and other apartments, while 4,200 residents (1.63%) live in landed properties.
As of 2020, the average household size in Jurong West is 3.39. Among the 83,879 households in Jurong West, the most common household size is four persons, representing 23.2% of total households. This is closely followed by a household size of four persons, representing 22.1% of all households.[23]
Jurong West has a home ownership rate of 91.0% as of 2020. This is higher than the national home ownership rate of 87.9%,[23] reflecting a greater prevalence of homeowners in Jurong West.
Jurong West has a greater ethnic diversity in comparison to the national average. Despite having a majority Chinese population, the proportion of residents of Chinese ethnicity, 69.88%, is substantially lower than the national proportion of 74.35%.[4]
Religion
Religious affiliation in Jurong West (2020 census)[23]
Consistent with the rest of Singapore, the largest religion in Jurong West is Buddhism, with 78,615 practising residents (34.82% of the population). The second most common group consists of residents practising Islam (46,353 residents, 20.53%), followed by those with no religion (41,074 residents, 18.19%). Additionally, there are 24,184 residents practising Taoism and other Chinese religions (10.71%), as well as 22,114 Christians (9.79%), including 7,769 Catholics (3.44%). Other religious affiliations include Hinduism (12,143 residents, 5.38%), and Sikhism (666 residents, 0.29%).
Jurong West is the planning area with the lowest proportion of practising Christians in Singapore, significantly below the national average of 18.92%. Additionally, Jurong West is the only planning area where more residents practise Taoism and other Chinese religions than Christianity.[23]
Education
As of 2020, 97.0% of the population above 15 is literate, similar to the national literacy rate of 97.1%. 64.6% of residents are literate in two languages, with the most common language pair being English and Chinese (41.5%). 5.5% of Jurong West residents are literate in three or more languages.[23]
48,675 residents (24.0% of the population) in Jurong West have attained a university qualification, lower than the national average of 32.1%, ranking the third lowest in Singapore. In contrast, 24,024 residents, or 11.8% of the population, have no educational qualifications, higher than the national average of 10.6%.[23]
Language
Languages most frequently spoken at home, Jurong West (2020 census)[23]
The proportion of residents in Jurong West using English as the most frequently spoken language (36.5%) is the lowest among all planning areas in Singapore, significantly below the national average of 48.3%. Notably, Jurong West is the only planning area in Singapore where there are more Mandarin Chinese speakers than English speakers.
Additionally, there are 9,056 Tamil speakers, representing 84.8% of the 2,695 Indian language speakers in Jurong West.[23]
Employment and income
According to the 2020 Census of Population, 148,785 residents aged 15 years and over in Jurong West are employed, out of the 156,732 in the labour force. This equates to an employment rate of 94.9%, higher than the national employment rate of 94.2%. The remaining 69,039 residents aged above 15 (30.6%) in Jurong West are outside the labour force.[23]
Among the employed residents in Jurong West aged 15 years and over, most earn a gross monthly income of between S$3,000 and S$3,999, with 14.6% being in that category. 6.9% earn less than S$1,000 per month, while 3.6% earn above S$15,000 per month.[23] Notably, the proportion of residents earning less than S$1,000 per month in Jurong West is the second highest in Singapore, behind Yishun.
According to the 2020 Census of Population, most resident households in Jurong West have no employed person, encompassing 9.6% of all households. The second highest category for monthly household income is S$20,000 and over, encompassing 8.2% of all households.[23]
Notable places
The Jurong Central Park provides a recreation space for people working in the industrial developments along Jalan Boon Lay.
City planners plan for public transport to eventually become the preferred mode of transport. The government of Singapore uses public transport to reduce pollution caused by heavy road traffic.[34] Jurong West is part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's focus for realising this urban planning model. As Jurong West is relatively distant from the city centre at the Central Area, an efficient, high-volume and high-speed public transport system is also preferred to using road networks, as the government is aiming to reduce the number of cars on the road.[35]
Jurong West Town is linked to the rest of Singapore through the East West Line (EWL) at Boon Lay MRT station, located at the Town Centre. The EWL is a heavy rail mass rapid transit system, and connects to other systems in the MRT network. It is operated by SMRT.
The Boon Lay MRT Station is located next to Boon Lay Bus Interchange for commuters' ease of switching across different modes of public transport. The MRT station began operations on 6 July 1990,[36] as the western terminus of the East West Line, before additional stations were added further west of the line at Pioneer and Joo Koon on 28 February 2009.[37]
Lakeside (EW26), another station along the EWL in Jurong West Town, serves the housing developments in Taman Jurong, Hong Kah and Boon Lay. The station began operations on 5 November 1988.
Pioneer (EW28) began operations on 28 February 2009.[38] The station improves accessibility to residential areas of Nanyang and Pioneer, as well as the industrial areas located south of the station.[39]
The inter-town Jurong Region Line (JRL) system is a 24km mass rapid transit line that will connect residents to the town centre, as well as other areas such as Tengah, Choa Chu Kang and Jurong East. The MRT line will have 24 stations and all will be elevated. The line will open from 2026 onwards.
The Boon Lay Bus Interchange originally opened in July 1990 along with Boon Lay MRT station.[40] At that time, developments around the area in Jurong West New Town were still actively in progress. It was later rebuilt[41] and reopened in 2009[42] at the ground level of Jurong Point Shopping Centre, next to Centris condominium, and is the fourth air-conditioned bus interchange in Singapore, after Toa Payoh Bus Interchange, Sengkang Bus Interchange and Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange.These bus services from this interchange would be mostly operated by SMRT Buses from September 2024 onwards after being operated by SBS Transit for many years with the incumbent operations under the Jurong West Bus Package.
There are four major building complexes within the Jurong West Town Centre.
Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Jurong Point Shopping Centre is Singapore's largest suburban shopping centre.[43] The shopping centre started operations in December 1995[44] and expanded twice in 1999[45] and 2008.[46]
The Centris
The Centris is a private condominium that is located above Jurong Point Shopping Centre.[47]
Jurong West Community Building
The Jurong West Community Building is an integrated development comprising the Jurong West Public Library, The Frontier Community Club and Jurong Medical Centre.[48] It is located behind Jurong Point Shopping Centre.
Westwood Primary School is one of the 12 primary schools in Jurong West.
Fire stations
Jurong Fire Station, which opened on 17 November 2017, is the first fire station in Singapore to have a slide.[53] The fire station covers 4,000 square metres,[54] and is used by the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
Medical facilities
Pioneer Polyclinic is located next to Jurong West Primary School, along Jurong West Street 61.
Pioneer Polyclinic is a government healthcare institution serving the local community in Jurong West.[55] The polyclinic was opened in January 2018.[56] Also located in Jurong West is the Jurong Medical Centre, which complements the acute and step-down care services of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong Community Hospital.[57]
Sports facilities
Jurong West Sports Centre,[58] formerly known as Jurong West Sports and Recreation Centre,[59] is the largest sports centre in Singapore,[60] and offers one of the two sheltered pools managed by Sport Singapore.
↑ National Library Board (20 June 2016). "Boon Lay | Infopedia". Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
↑ Housing and Development Board (4 October 2017). "Jurong West | HDB InfoWEB". Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
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