Singapore’s government has projected that the tiny city-state’s population of 5.3 million – about the size of metropolitan Miami – will reach 6.9 million by 2030, almost half of which will be made up of foreigners as the citizen population continues to shrink with declining birth rates and an aging population.
The issue of population – particularly the city-state’s reliance on a large foreign workforce to complement its dwindling number of citizens – has for years been a delicate political issue in Singapore. Disaffection towards the longtime ruling People’s Action Party – the only party in power since the young city-state’s independence in the 1960s – was further proved by its loss in a by-election over the weekend, which boosted opposition representation in parliament to a small but unprecedented seven out of 87 seats. Rising housing and transportation costs, seen as a direct result of more people in the already-crowded state, are among the core reasons for this unhappiness, and the government has been under increasing pressure to cut its dependence on foreign labor. Full story
