Proportion of singles among younger age groups in Singapore rise: report

The proportion of singles among younger age groups in Singapore has increased, announced Singapore Department of Statistics (Singstat) on Wednesday in a report on the general household survey 2015.

The report revealed various characteristics of the resident population and households.

The report unveiled that the proportion of singles among residents aged 25-29 years rose from 74.6 percent to 80.2 percent for males, and from 54.0 percent to 63.0 percent for females between 2010 and 2015, while the proportion of singles among those aged 30 years and above remained stable.

Majority of ever-married females are still having two or more children, although the average number of children has declined, said the report.

Two-thirds of resident ever-married females aged 40-49 years had two or more children, and proportion who was childless or had one child increased slightly. Among resident ever-married females aged 40-49 years, the average number of children born declined from 2.02 in 2010 to 1.85 in 2015.

Singstat said that education profile of the resident population improved between 2010 and 2015. Among the resident non-student population aged 25 years and over, 52.0 percent possessed post-secondary qualifications in 2015, up from 46.5 percent in 2010.

The report also mentioned that literacy rate among the resident population was high, at close to 97.0 percent in 2015. The proportion of residents literate in two or more languages increased. Among literate residents aged 15 and over, 73.2 percent were able to read in two or more languages in 2015, an increase from the 70.5 percent in 2010.

The survey showed that English was the most frequently spoken language at home for 36.9 percent of residents in 2015, a 32.3 percent increase when compared with that in 2010.

As for religious affiliation, the resident population remained diverse. Among residents aged 15 years and over in 2015, 43.2 percent identified themselves as Buddhists or Taoists, 18.8 percent as Christians, 14.0 percent as Muslims and 5.0 percent as Hindus. Another 18.5 percent of residents had no religious affiliation in 2015, an increase from the 17.0 percent in 2010.

Singstat found that 4-room flat built by Singapore's Housing Development Board remained the most common house type last year, with 32.0 percent of resident households living in them. While more resident households lived in condominiums and other apartments., the the proportion of resident households living in condominiums and other apartments increased from 11.5 percent in 2010 to 13.9 percent in 2015.

Most households owned the houses they lived in, according to the report. Home ownership among resident households stood at 90.8 percent in 2015, up from 87.2 percent in 2010.

The report also stressed that more households had at least one resident aged 65 years and over. With an ageing population, the proportion of resident households with at least one resident aged 65 years and over rose to 29.1 percent in 2015 from 24.1 percent in 2010. Among those aged 65 years and over in resident households, 61.3 percent lived with their children in 2015, down from 66.7 percent in 2010.

More than half of residents relied on public bus and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) to travel to work or school in 2015, according to Singstat. In particular, the proportion commuting to work by MRT with a transfer to/from public bus increased to 24.8 percent in 2015.

As of end-June 2015, Singapore's resident population was 3.90 million, Singstat said. Endit