  | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 47,700 [1] (2012) | |
| Languages | |
| Thai language, Mandarin Chinese, English | |
| Religion | |
| Theravada Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Thai diaspora |
Thais in Singapore refers to people who are holding Thai citizenship or people of Thai descent who were born or residing in Singapore. With a population of 47,700 in 2012, according to Thailand's Thai Consular, they are the 8th largest overseas Thai community and 2nd largest in Southeast Asia. [1]
During Singapore's construction boom in the 1980s and early 1990s, Thai migrant workers made up the bulk of foreign construction workers in the country. [2] They arrived by bus into Singapore by the thousands from Thailand to work on infrastructure projects around the country. Golden Mile Complex was a common pick up and drop off point for these buses resulting in the emergence of more Thai businesses such as restaurants, tour agencies, Thai newspaper stands around the area and the place was colloquially known by locals as 'Little Thailand'. [3]
Today, there are lesser Thai construction workers in Singapore as the construction workforce relies more on workers from China and South Asia.
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree of latitude north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north.
As of June 2023, the population of Singapore stands at 5.92 million. Of these 5.92 million people, 4.15 million are residents, consisting of 3.61 million citizens and 540,000 permanent residents (PRs). The remaining 1.77 million people living in Singapore are classed as non-residents, a group consisting mainly of resident workers without political rights who are routinely excluded from official demographic statistics.
Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by Australia and the Indian Ocean. Apart from the British Indian Ocean Territory and two out of 26 atolls of the Maldives in South Asia, Maritime Southeast Asia is the only other subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere. Mainland Southeast Asia is entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. East Timor and the southern portion of Indonesia are the parts of Southeast Asia that lie south of the equator.
Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Chinese military center and the location of the headquarters for the US Army Forces China-Burma-India. Wujiaba Airport served as the home of the First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers. Kunming was also a transport terminus for the Burma Road.
Hinduism in Southeast Asia had a profound impact on the region's cultural development and its history. As the Indic scripts were introduced from the Indian subcontinent, people of Southeast Asia entered the historical period by producing their earliest inscriptions around the 1st to 5th century CE. Today, Hindus in Southeast Asia are mainly Overseas Indians and Balinese. There are also Javanese and Balamon Cham minority in Cambodia and south central Vietnam who also practice Hinduism.
Religion in Singapore is characterised by a wide variety of religious beliefs and practices due to its diverse ethnic mix of people originating from various parts of the world. A secular state, Singapore is commonly termed as a "melting pot" or "cultural mosaic " of various religious practices originating from different religions and religious denominations around the world. Most major religious denominations are present in the country, with the Singapore-based Inter-Religious Organisation recognising 10 major religions. A 2014 analysis by the Pew Research Center found Singapore to be the world's most religiously diverse nation.
Buddhism is the largest religion in Singapore, practiced by approximately 31.1% of the population as of 2020. As per the census, out of 3,459,093 Singaporeans polled, 1,074,159 of them identified themselves as Buddhists.
Chinese Singaporeans are Singaporeans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean resident population according to the official census, making them the largest ethnic group in Singapore.
The Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, is a Buddhist temple and monastery in Bishan, Singapore. It was built by Zhuan Dao in the early 20th century, to propagate Buddhism and to provide lodging for monks. This monastery is the largest Buddhist temple in Singapore. It is the parent organization of the Buddhist College of Singapore, founded in 2006. It also operates one of Singapore's two private crematoria, alongside Tse Toh Aum Temple.
The Kek Lok Si Temple is a Buddhist temple within the city of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located at Ayer Itam, it is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia and an important pilgrimage centre for Buddhists from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia. The entire complex of temples was built over a period from 1890 to 1930, an inspirational initiative of Beow Lean, the abbot. The main feature of the complex is the seven-story Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda commissioned by the late Thai king Rama VI, featuring 10,000 alabaster and bronze statues of Buddha and the 36.57-metre-tall (120 ft) bronze statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. The 10,000 Buddhas concept belongs to the Chinese Mahāyāna school of Buddhism while Rama VI was king over a Theravāda country and Buddhist tradition.
Indian Singaporeans are Singaporeans of Indian or of general South Asian ancestry. They constitute approximately 9.0% of the country's residents, making them the third largest ancestry and ethnic group in Singapore.
Hindu religion and culture in Singapore can be traced to the 7th century AD, when Temasek was a trading post of Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya empire. A millennium later, a wave of immigrants from southern India were brought to Singapore, mostly as coolies and indentured labourers by the British East India Company and colonial British Empire. As with Malay peninsula, the British administration sought to stabilise a reliable labour force in its regional plantation and trading activities; it encouraged Hindus to bring family through the kangani system of migration, settle, build temples and segregated it into a community that later became Little India.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a Theravada Buddhist temple (wat) in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The temple is often referred to as "Doi Suthep" although this is actually the name of the mountain where it is located. It is a sacred site to many Thai people. The temple is 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the city of Chiang Mai and situated at an elevation of 1,073 meters. From the temple, impressive views of downtown Chiang Mai can be seen.
Buddhism in Southeast Asia includes a variety of traditions of Buddhism including two main traditions: Mahāyāna Buddhism and Theravāda Buddhism. Historically, Mahāyāna had a prominent position in the region, but in modern times, most countries follow the Theravāda tradition. Southeast Asian countries with a Theravāda Buddhist majority are Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, all of them mainland countries.
Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, narrative scenes from their lives, mandalas, and physical objects associated with Buddhist practice, such as vajras, bells, stupas and Buddhist temple architecture. Buddhist art originated in the north of the Indian subcontinent, in modern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the earliest survivals dating from a few centuries after the historical life of Siddhartha Gautama from the 6th to 5th century BCE.
Immigration to Singapore is the process by which people migrate to Singapore for the purpose of residing there—and where a majority go on to become permanent residents and Singaporean citizens. Singapore is an attractive destination especially in the region as it is a country with a strong currency that offers high living standards, including in education, work, wages and safety as well as an overall far higher quality of life compared to its neighbours. High-net-worth or skilled immigrants worldwide are also attracted to Singapore's low tax rates and ease of doing business.
Singapore does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. In 2022, the Parliament of Singapore passed a constitutional amendment giving itself "the power to define, regulate, protect and promote the institution of marriage".
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.
Chinese folk religion plays a dynamic role in the lives of the overseas Chinese who have settled in the countries of this geographic region, particularly Burmese Chinese, Singaporean Chinese, Malaysian Chinese, Thai Chinese, Indonesian Chinese and Hoa. Some Chinese Filipinos also still practice some Chinese traditional religions, besides Christianity of either Roman Catholicism or Protestantism, with which some have also varyingly syncretized traditional Chinese religious practices. Chinese folk religion, the ethnic religion of Han Chinese, "Shenism" was especially coined referring to its Southeast Asian expression; another Southeast Asian name for the religion is the Sanskrit expression Satya Dharma.
Chinese nationals in Singapore refers to Chinese people who are of Chinese nationality residing in Singapore. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the community had a population of 514,110 in 2020, with 65,867 originating from Hong Kong and 21,809 from Macau, the 2 special administrative regions of China. The community of Chinese nationals are the 2nd largest foreign community in Singapore, constituting 18% of the country's foreign-born population.
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| Oceania | ||
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