Singapore now a ‘super-aged’ society, with more than 1 in 5 citizens aged 65 and above
The number of Singaporeans aged 80 and above has also grown by 60 per cent over the past 10 years.
Elderly men seen outside Raffles Place MRT station on Jan 14, 2022. (File photo: CNA/Calvin Oh)
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SINGAPORE: Singapore has reached “super-aged society” status, according to official figures released on Friday (Sep 25).
The threshold is reached when at least 21 per cent of the population is aged 65 and above.
In June 2026, 21.4 per cent of Singapore citizens were in this age group, according to this year’s Population in Brief report by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) of the Prime Minister’s Office and its partner agencies.
While the United Nations uses total population for its definition of a super-aged society, Singapore uses its citizen population.
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The latest figures also showed Singapore’s total population grew to 6.21 million that month, marking a 1.6 per cent increase from June last year.
But citizen marriages and births declined in 2025 compared with 2024, the report said. Marriages fell 5.6 per cent in 2025, while births dropped 10.8 per cent.
SUPER-AGED POPULATION
Singapore’s population has been ageing, with the proportion of citizens aged 65 and above rising faster than in the previous decade.
In 2016, 13.7 per cent of the citizen population belonged to this age group. This rose to 21.4 per cent in 2026.
Over the past 10 years, the number of citizens aged 80 and above also increased by 60 per cent, climbing from 95,000 in 2016 to 152,000 in 2026, said the report.
It estimated that more than 1 in 4 Singaporeans would be aged 65 and above by 2035.
However, the proportion of citizens aged 20 to 64 is expected to remain broadly stable between 2030 and 2035.
“This is due to smaller cohorts ageing into the 65 and above age band, balanced by an inflow of younger cohorts into the 20 to 64 age band, including from managed immigration inflows,” the report said.
The median age for Singaporeans as of June was 44.1, up from 43.7 in June 2025.
There were also 2.8 citizens aged 20 to 64 for every citizen aged 65 and above in 2026, down from 4.7 in 2016. This old-age support ratio is projected to fall further to 2.2 by 2035.
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POPULATION GROWTH
Singapore’s total population growth was mainly driven by a rise in the non-resident population, particularly in work permit holders, said the report.
The citizen population grew by 0.7 per cent from June 2025 to June 2026, from 3.66 million to 3.68 million, while the permanent resident population remained relatively stable at 0.55 million.
Meanwhile, the non-resident population rose by 3.7 per cent to 1.98 million.
Foreign employment growth was higher from June 2025 to June 2026 than in the preceding 12 months, primarily because of an increase in work permit holders.
The report highlighted the construction sector in particular, saying more work permit holders were needed for projects such as Changi Airport’s Terminal 5, the expansion of Marina Bay Sands, and a ramp-up in housing supply and other transport infrastructure.
The annualised population growth rate from 2021 to 2026 was also higher than in the preceding five years, partly because the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in a lower population base in 2021, the report said.
Singapore granted citizenship to 25,094 people and permanent residency to 35,352 people in 2025.
From 2021 to 2025, an average of 22,400 citizenships and 34,600 permanent residencies were granted each year, up from annual averages of 20,600 and 31,200 respectively from 2016 to 2020.
The report said many of the new citizens and PRs either shared family ties with Singaporeans or had studied, worked or lived in the country for some time.
“Immigration helps to moderate the impact of ageing and low birth rates on our citizen population, and keeps the citizen population from shrinking over the long term,” it said.
FEWER MARRIAGES AND BIRTHS
Singapore had 21,671 citizen marriages last year, down 5.6 per cent from 22,955 in 2024.
The average number of citizen marriages per year from 2023 to 2025 was 23,000, lower than the annual average of 23,500 from 2016 to 2019.
Singaporeans have also been getting married later. The median ages for first-time grooms and brides were 30.8 and 29.1, respectively, in 2025, up from 30.1 and 27.9, in 2015.
Of the citizen marriages last year, transnational marriages accounted for 37 per cent while inter-ethnic marriages made up 19 per cent, said the report.
The proportions of these marriages have remained largely stable since 2015, though transnational marriages dipped from 2020 to 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Singles in Singapore are also making up a larger share of the citizen population. Between 2015 and 2025, the proportion of singles rose across most male and female age groups, particularly for those aged 25 to 29 and 30 to 34, said the report.
Citizen births fell 10.8 per cent from 29,237 in 2024 to 26,071 last year, while the resident fertility rate dropped to 0.87.
The average number of births per year from 2021 to 2025 was lower than from 2016 to 2020, said the report.
At the same time, the median age of Singaporean mothers during their first birth has increased, climbing from 30.3 in 2015 to 31.9 in 2025.
While citizen births declined, the number of children granted citizenship by descent increased notably in 2025.
These children were born overseas to at least one Singaporean, and 1,646 received citizenship last year, as compared to 1,409 in 2024.
Source: CNA/rl(ac)
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