Total population | |
---|---|
217,200 (2019) [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Diaspora total | 340,751 (2019) [2] [lower-alpha 1] |
Malaysia | 91,002 [2] |
Australia | 64,739 [2] |
United Kingdom | 58,432 [2] |
United States | 39,018 [2] |
Indonesia | 23,524 [2] |
China | 12,799 [2] |
Canada | 12,582 [2] |
Bangladesh | 9,709 [2] |
New Zealand | 5,734 [2] |
India | 4,155 [2] |
Netherlands | 4,126 [2] |
Japan | 2,735 [2] |
Germany | 2,638 [2] |
France | 2,512 [2] |
Switzerland | 2,349 [2] |
Vietnam | 1,830 [2] |
Languages | |
Religion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Singaporeans |
Overseas Singaporeans refers to citizens or people who identify as a nation with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore that are living outside the borders of Singapore. [3] Most Singaporeans overseas are high-income expatriates bringing their expertise or skills to other countries while accompanied by their families or students temporarily studying abroad. [4]
According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in 2019, the population of the Singaporean diaspora stands at 340,751 [2] and according to official statistics from the Government of Singapore, 217,200 of Singaporeans overseas continues to retain their citizenship. [1] Most of the Singaporean diaspora are generally located in Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Indonesia and China.
Most Singaporeans abroad are high-income expatriates accompanied by their families, as Singaporean professionals are sought after in various industries in regions such as China, India, the Middle East, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, for their bilingual proficiency and high-income skills. Other Singaporeans living abroad includes students seeking to study in overseas universities or individuals that settled in the home countries of their foreign spouses. [5]
The population of the Singaporean diaspora was at 156,468 in 1990, with the United Kingdom having the largest community of Singaporeans at 33,320 and the second largest in Malaysia, with a population of 31,269. In 2000, the population of the diaspora increased to 192,989, which was a 23.3% increase since 1990. In the same year, the number of Singaporeans in Malaysia increased to 44,779 individuals, surpassing the community in the United Kingdom, which had a population of 39,131. From 2000 to 2015, the number of Singaporeans moving abroad increased to 314,281 individuals. By 2019, there were 340,751 overseas Singaporeans, with 123,551 individuals holding other nationalities. [2]
Most Singaporeans living abroad rarely renounce their citizenship and continues to keep strong ties to the country; there were only an average of 1,000 Singaporeans renouncing their citizenship annually. [6] [7] Furthermore, Singaporean students living abroad increasingly have plans to return to Singapore after completing their studies in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. [8]
According to a 2016 survey conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies, 69.7% of Singaporeans aged between 19 and 30 stated that they could achieve the goals they have without migrating and 62.6% "preferred to improve" their socioeconomic well-being without migrating. [9]
According to a 2014 survey conducted by Singapore Polytechnic, some of the top reasons why Singaporeans would go abroad were to "increase their spending, find more opportunities overseas for work and education, or have a slower pace of life". [10] Other factors include having different lifestyles, such as having access to more outdoor natural recreational activities in other countries (e.g. backpacking, camping, hiking and skiing). [11]
This is a list of notable people of Singaporean origin that includes people who were born or raised in Singapore and Singaporeans living abroad.
Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people who reside outside Greater China. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Overall, China has a low percent of population living overseas.
Chen ( ) is a common Chinese-language surname and one of the most common surnames in Asia. It is the most common surname in Taiwan (2010) and Singapore (2000). Chen is also the most common family name in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Macau, and Hong Kong. It is the most common surname in Xiamen, the ancestral hometown of many overseas Hoklo.
An overseas Filipino is a person of full or partial Filipino origin who trace their ancestry back to the Philippines but are living and working outside of the country. They get jobs in countries, and they move to live in countries that they get jobs in. This term generally applies to both people of Filipino ancestry and citizens abroad. As of 2019, there were over 15 million Filipinos overseas.
Waves of Chinese emigration have happened throughout history. They include the emigration to Southeast Asia beginning from the 10th century during the Tang dynasty, to the Americas during the 19th century, particularly during the California gold rush in the mid-1800s; general emigration initially around the early to mid 20th century which was mainly caused by corruption, starvation, and war due to the Warlord Era, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War; and finally elective emigration to various countries. Most emigrants were peasants and manual laborers, although there were also educated individuals who brought their various expertises to their new destinations.
Renunciation of citizenship is the voluntary loss of citizenship. It is the opposite of naturalization, whereby a person voluntarily obtains citizenship. It is distinct from denaturalization, where citizenship is revoked by the state.
Singapore nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Singapore nationality. The primary law governing nationality requirements is the Constitution of Singapore, which came into force on 9 August 1965.
Singaporeans in the United Kingdom may refer to people who have full or partial Singaporean origin or descent, born or settled in the United Kingdom, or Singaporeans in Britain which are high-income expatriate professionals as well as skilled workers, with many still maintaining close ties with Singapore, especially those who continue to retain Singaporean citizenship while having permanent residency in Britain, as well as students.
The British diaspora consists of people of English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, Cornish, Manx and Channel Islands ancestral descent who live outside of the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies.
Overseas Indonesians are Indonesians who live outside of Indonesia. These include citizens that have migrated to another country as well as people born abroad of Indonesian descent. According to Ministry of Law and Human Rights, more than 6-9 million Indonesians diaspora live abroad in 2023.
Emigration from the United States is the process where citizens from the United States move to live in countries other than the US, creating an American Diaspora. The process is the reverse of the immigration to the United States. The United States does not keep track of emigration and counts of Americans abroad are thus only available based on statistics kept by the destination countries.
Singaporean Australians are Australians of Singaporean descent. As Singapore is a multi-racial country, a Singaporean Australian could either be of Chinese, Malay or Indian descent, the main races of Singapore. According to the 2006 Australian census, 39,969 Australians were born in Singapore while 4,626 claimed Singaporean ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry.
Overseas Indians, officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are Indians who reside or originate outside of India.According to the Government of India, Non-Resident Indians are citizens of India who currently are not living in India, while the term People of Indian Origin refers to people of Indian birth or ancestry who are citizens of countries other than India. Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is given to People of Indian Origin and to persons who are not People of Indian Origin but married to Indian citizen or People of Indian Origin. Persons with OCI status are known as Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs). The OCI status is a permanent visa for visiting India with a foreign passport.
The Sri Lankan diaspora are Sri Lankan emigrants and expatriates from Sri Lanka that reside in a foreign country.
Singaporeans are the citizens and nationals of the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is home to a people of a variety of ethno-racial-religious origins, with the city-state itself being a multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-religious, multi-denominational, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian descent have made up the overwhelming majority of the population since the 19th century. The Singaporean diaspora is also far-reaching worldwide.
The Palestinian diaspora, part of the wider Arab diaspora, are Palestinian people living outside the region of Palestine.
The Malaysian diaspora are Malaysian emigrants from Malaysia and their descendants that reside in a foreign country. Population estimates vary from seven hundred thousand to one million, both descendants of early emigrants from Malaysia, as well as more recent emigrants from Malaysia. The largest of these foreign communities are in Singapore, Australia, Brunei and the United Kingdom.
Malaysians are citizens who are identified with the country of Malaysia. Although citizens make up the majority of Malaysians, non-citizen residents may also claim a Malaysian identity.
The Tamil Nadu diaspora comprises people who have emigrated from South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, to other non-Tamil Indian states and other countries, and people of Tamil Nadu descent born or residing in other non-Tamil Indian states and other countries.
Malaysians in Singapore refers to citizens of Malaysia or Singaporean citizens of Malaysia origin residing in Singapore. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the community had a population of 1,132,924 in 2020, making them the world's largest Malaysian diaspora community. The community is also the largest foreign community in Singapore, constituting 44% of the country's foreign-born population and an additional 350,000 Malaysians cross the Johor–Singapore Causeway daily for work and school in the city-state.
The Asian diaspora is the diasporic group of people whose ancestral origins lie in Asia, but who live outside of the continent. There are several prominent groups within the Asian diaspora.