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Overseas Singaporeans
Total population
	217,200 (2019)
Regions with significant populations
Diaspora total	340,751 (2019)
Malaysia	91,002
Australia	64,739
United Kingdom	58,432
United States	39,018
Indonesia	23,524
China	12,799
Canada	12,582
Bangladesh	9,709
New Zealand	5,734
India	4,155
Netherlands	4,126
Japan	2,735
Germany	2,638
France	2,512
Switzerland	2,349
Vietnam	1,830
Languages
	English; Malay; Mandarin; Tamil;
Religion
	Buddhism; Christianity; Islam; Taoism; Hinduism;
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.

Overview

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]

Factors

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]

Notable people

This is a list of notable people of Singaporean origin that includes people who were born or raised in Singapore and Singaporeans living abroad.

Politics

Ian Goodenough – Australian politician
Michael Chan, Baron Chan – British physician and politician
Peter Whish-Wilson – Australian politician
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail – Malaysian politician and Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
Francis Seow – Singaporean politician and lawyer
Devan Nair – Former President of Singapore
Yaw Shin Leong – Singaporean politician

Business

Desney Tan – Singaporean researcher working for Microsoft Research, based in the United States
Victoria Chan-Palay – Singaporean neuroscientist, former American citizen
Nancy Lam – Singaporean chef based in the United Kingdom
Patrick Grove – Australian entrepreneur, co-founder of Catcha Group
John Burton-Race – British Michelin starred chef
Quek Leng Chan – Malaysian tycoon, co-founder of Hong Leong Group Malaysia
Brandon Wade – American businessman, of Singaporean descent

Arts, Entertainment, and Sports

Boey Kim Cheng – Australian poet
Paddy Boom – American professional drummer
Ross Butler – Singaporean-born American actor
Sashi Cheliah- Singaporean Australian Chef & Masterchef winner
Chin Han – Singaporean Hollywood actor
Anna Cummer – Canadian actress
Amanda Lee Koe – Singaporean-American novelist
Kevin Kwan – American novelist
Kygo – Singaporean-born Norwegian DJ
Julia Nickson – Singaporean-born American actor
Allan Massie – Scottish journalist, columnist, sports writer and novelist
Vanessa-Mae – British violinist
Wilfred Skinner – Singaporean national athlete, migrated to Canada
Tan Kheng Hua – Singaporean Hollywood actress, producer and beauty queen
Louis Theroux – British-American filmmaker
Astra Sharma – Australian tennis player
Sharon Tay – American journalist and former host
Gwendoline Yeo – Singaporean Hollywood actress

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "2019 Singapore Population in Brief" (PDF). Strategy Group Singapore, Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "International migrant stock 2019". United Nations. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
^ "More S'poreans overseas, but brain drain concerns dissipate". Today. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
^ "Chart of the Day: 200,000 Singaporeans live overseas". Singapore Business Review. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
^ "Singaporeans living aboard" (PDF). National University of Singapore. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
^ "Are Singaporeans renouncing their citizenship and rapidly being replaced?". gov.sg, Government of Singapore. 19 January 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
^ "Commentary: More Singaporeans going abroad, but are no less Singaporean for it". Channel News Asia. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
^ "Harder for skilled Singaporeans to live, work overseas". The Straits Times. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
^ "Survey on Emigration Attitudes of Young Singaporeans (2016)" (PDF). Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore. 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
^ "Six in 10 young Singaporeans have considered leaving the country to fulfill their dreams, Singapore News & Top Stories". The Straits Times. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
^ "Working Overseas: Singaporeans Share 7 Things They Had to Get Used to When Living Abroad". MoneySmart Singapore. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2020.

Notes

^ This number includes Singaporean citizens and people of Singaporean descent who renounced their citizenship, statistics of overseas Singaporeans retaining their citizenship stands at 217,200.^[1]