Population: Singapore stands at 6.11 million (end-Jun 2025); growth mainly from non-residents.
Foreign workforce: 1.593 million (latest MOM table, Sep 2025)—a record high; CMP (construction, marine, process) and MDWs are big drivers.
“We will collapse without them, and the more of them the more the economy grows.” — K. Shanmugam, Asia Future Summit 2025.
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.
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.
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:
Foreign workers ≈ 26.1% of the total population (1.5934 m / 6.11 m).
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
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.
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.
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.
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:
Public Order Act tightly regulates assemblies; the Speakers’ Corner Order 2025 refreshes the unrestricted area rules.
POFMA enables correction (and, in serious cases, disabling) of online false statements of fact in the public interest (active use continued in Sep 2025).
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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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