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TL;DR
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Population: Singapore stands at 6.11 million (end-Jun 2025); growth mainly from non-residents.
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Foreign workforce: 1.593 million (latest MOM table, Sep 2025)—a record high; CMP (construction, marine, process) and MDWs are big drivers.
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“We will collapse without them, and the more of them the more the economy grows.” — K. Shanmugam, Asia Future Summit 2025.
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Risk radar: UK 2024 riots show how immigration-linked misinformation can ignite violence; Singapore’s POA/POFMA/FICA framework is designed to pre-empt such spirals.
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What to do: Budget for labour constraints & compliance, accelerate automation/prefab, stress-test crisis comms for misinformation surges, and align hiring/tenders to the T5–Tuas–BTO capex cycle.
The numbers everyone is arguing about (without the noise)
Total population: 6.11 million as at end-June 2025, up 1.2% year-on-year; the increase is mainly non-residents. Residents: 4.20 m (Citizens 3.66 m, PRs 0.54 m). TFR 0.97 (2024). These are straight from the Government’s annual publications.
Foreign workforce: MOM’s latest table shows 1,593,400 foreign workers, with ~460,300 Work Permits in CMP and ~308,700 MDWs, plus ~201,200 EPs and ~177,600 S Pass holders. (Breakdown rounded; see table.)
Quick calculation for context:
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Foreign workers ≈ 26.1% of the total population (1.5934 m / 6.11 m).
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Foreign workers are ≈ 83.6% of the non-resident pool (using non-resident ≈ 1.91 m from Population in Brief).
Directionally: non-residents are dominated by workers, and 2025’s rise reflects the build-out cycle.
“We will collapse without them and the more of them the more the economy grows.” — K. Shanmugam, Asia Future Summit 2025
Why this matters now : A capex super-cycle you can’t deliver without people
Changi Terminal 5 (T5) is real money, real headcount
Construction restarted; S$999 m intra-terminal tunnels awarded; opening mid-2030s with 50 m pax initial capacity; aim to expand connectivity from ~170 to 200+ cities. Labour demand is structural, not a blip.
Tuas Port is pulling logistics upstream
PSA plans to move city terminals to Tuas by 2027; Pasir Panjang will consolidate by the 2040s. New PSA Supply Chain Hub @ Tuas (regional distribution, cold-chain, DG handling) is slated to start operations in 2027; PSA just inked an MOU with COSCO on co-located warehousing. Expect higher-value, time-sensitive cargo flows—and manpower to match.
Housing supply is being pushed harder
HDB will launch ~55,000 BTOs across 2025–2027 (≈10% more than prior guidance) and about 25,000 in 2025—a clearly labour-intensive pipeline.
Between T5, Tuas, and BTO, 2025–2030 is a build-heavy period. Foreign labour is baked into delivery schedules—and therefore into your cost, timing, and risk.
Lessons from protests and riots abroad: pricing social-order risk
The UK’s 2024 riots are a live case study in “misinformation → mobilisation → mayhem”
Between 30 Jul and 7 Aug 2024, the UK saw ~29 anti-immigration demonstrations/riots across 27 towns/cities, with attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers. Courts have since handed out stiff sentences (e.g., a nine-year arson sentence over an asylum-hotel fire near Rotherham), and official briefings flag the role of misinformation and far-right mobilisation.
Why you should care in Singapore: capital markets price policy certainty and physical operating continuity. Singapore’s legal “antidotes” are specifically designed to avoid UK-style cascades:
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Public Order Act tightly regulates assemblies; the Speakers’ Corner Order 2025 refreshes the unrestricted area rules.
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POFMA enables correction (and, in serious cases, disabling) of online false statements of fact in the public interest (active use continued in Sep 2025).
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FICA counters hostile information campaigns and local proxies; politically significant persons provisions took effect 29 Dec 2023.
This isn’t academic. In 2025, ISD/MHA reported detentions and orders against individuals radicalised by the Israel–Hamas war and far-right extremism—including cases intent on violence or overseas fighting—underscoring how external conflicts can spill into domestic security via online pathways.
Actionable items
A) Budget for labour volatility and compliance friction
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Assume tight enforcement around levies/quotas, fair-hiring, and safe dorm standards as headcounts climb. Build lead-time buffers into tenders and sub-contracts. MOM’s composition shows CMP + MDWs dominate Work Permits—these categories are sticky and project-critical.
B) Buy productivity (or pay the delay premium)
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If even 10% of CMP Work Permits (~46k workers on MOM’s numbers) are unavailable for six months, milestone slippage across T5/Tuas/BTO rises materially; LDs and carry costs follow. Move early on off-site prefab, automation/robotics, and AI scheduling to flatten your labour curve. (Calculation by us from MOM CMP headcount.)
C) Align portfolios to infrastructure & logistics second-order winners
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Contractors with deep CMP benches, logistics parks tied to Tuas Free Trade Zone, cold-chain/DG specialists, and airport systems vendors look favoured by the 2025–2030 spend. Track PSA Supply Chain Hub @ Tuas openings and tenancy.
D) Treat misinformation as a financial risk
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UK case studies show how rumours can mobilise thousands in hours. In Singapore, corporate exposure is more about regulatory liability and reputational contagion. Update crisis comms SOPs, train teams on POFMA/FICA triggers, and pre-draft neutral corrections to avoid amplifying falsehoods.
Sentiment, trust, and the information fog
Global trust data in 2025 reflects a skeptical public, with “my employer” still among the most-trusted institutions—meaning you, as leaders, are expected to communicate clearly in crises. Build internal fact-checking muscle and avoid editorialising on geopolitics in official channels; stick to verifiable facts and authoritative sources.
Bottom line
Singapore’s 2025–2035 plan—build big, stay open, keep order—shows up clearly in the data: 6.11 m people, 1.593 m foreign workers, with T5/Tuas/BTO as demand anchors. The policy design (POA/POFMA/FICA) is to pre-empt the social volatility seen elsewhere, so the economy can capitalise on the capex cycle. For high-earning professionals, the edge lies in reading and acting on these signals early: secure labour, de-risk via productivity, and maintain information hygiene so operations (and brand) don’t get sideswiped by the next misinformation wave.
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Sources
- Population in Brief 2025; Population Trends 2025 (DOS/Strategy Group) — 6.11 m total; resident/non-resident breakdown; TFR 0.97.
- MOM: Foreign workforce numbers (updated Sep 2025) — 1,593,400; CMP/MDW/EP/S Pass headcounts.
- Changi T5 restart & contracts — Reuters (May & Jun 2025).
- PSA/Tuas schedule & facilities — MPA official site; Business Times/ST/PSA news.
- HDB supply — Business Times; The Straits Times (Aug 2025).
- UK unrest 2024 — UK House of Commons Library briefing; Reuters sentencing.
- Legal framework — Public Order (Speakers’ Corner) Order 2025; POFMA Office explainer; FICA page & Dec 2023 proxy provisions.
- Security incidents & risk — Reuters (Jan/Apr/Feb/Jul 2025); MHA/ISD reports.
- Quote source (unaltered): “[FULL] Shanmugam on Singapore’s ‘antidotes’ to external threats | Asia Future Summit 2025” (YouTube)
- Trust climate 2025 — Edelman Trust Barometer coverage.
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