Have expat demographics changed over the years?

Here are some highlights from our recent EXPAT LIVING READER SURVEY analysis based on four of our surveys: 2008, 2010, 2018 and 2023. Bear in mind that these are statistics from the expat respondents only – a full analysis will be covered in a future article. From expat neighbourhoods to salary packages and shopping habits, as you would expect, the demographics have changed – in some cases, significantly.

Nationality Trend

• There’s been a decrease in the population of Australian and American expats, and an increase in Indian expats:
  • Australian: from 28% in 2010 to 15% in 2023
  • American: from 14% in 2010 to 8% in 2023
  • Indian: from 3% in 2010 to 6% in 2023

Living in Singapore

• More expat families are enrolling their kids in local schools:
  • Up from 8% in 2010 to 22% in 2018
• More expats are planning to become PRs and make Singapore their main country of residence:
  • Increase from 4% in 2010 to 8% in 2023

Employment

• There are more expats working in the IT field now and fewer in the Banking & Finance and Engineering & Construction fields:
  • IT: up from 4% in 2010 to 8% in 2018
  • Banking & Finance: down from 25% in 2010 to 19% in 2018
  • Engineering & Construction: down from 13% in 2010 to 5% in 2018
• There has been a significant drop in expat packages:
  • 56% were on local packages in 2018, up from 32% in 2008
  • 18% were on expat packages in 2018, down from 33% in 2008

Income

• Surprisingly, income has remained unchanged over the last 10 years, despite economic and employment package changes.

Property

• There’s been a big rise in personal rentals and a drop in company rentals:
  • Personal rentals: up from 48% in 2008 to 71% in 2018
  • Company rentals: down from 40% in 2008 to 11% in 2018
• More expats are now staying in HDBs:
  • Up from 3% in 2008 to 5% in 2023
• The majority of expats still live in homes that are 1,000-3,000 square feet in size, though the number living in smaller homes has increased (influenced probably by newer property developments that are smaller):
  • 20% lived in homes up to 1000 square feet in 2018, up from 13% in 2010

Shopping & lifestyle habits

• The rise in expats shopping online for groceries has been huge:
  • Up from 5% in 2008 to 80% in 2020
• More expats are going to the gym and spending on fitness and personal trainers:
  • Increase from 25% in 2010 to 41% in 2020
• There’s been a major increase in weekly home entertainment/TV and going to the cinema, theatre or live events, reflecting a greater demand for entertainment:
  • 87% watch TV or other home entertainment once or more a week in 2018, up from 28% in 2008
  • 85% go to the cinema or a live event once or more a month in 2018, up from 38% in 2008
• In 2018, online shopping for clothing, beauty products, kids’ products and entertainment grew by about 30-40% since 2010.
• Expats are eating out more frequently:
  • 90% eat out at least once a week and 56% order home delivery at least once a month

District trends

• There’s been a major drop in the percentage of expats living in Ardmore, Bukit Timah, Holland Road and Tanglin areas:
  • Down from 28% in 2008 to 19% in 2018
• Also, fewer are living in the East Coast and Central/Orchard areas.
• The expat population has been growing in these areas since 2018:
  • Serangoon Garden, Hougang, Punggol (doubled since 2008)
  • Telok Blangah, HarbourFront (tripled since 2008)
  • Pasir Panjang, Hong Leong Garden, Clementi New Town
  • Hillview, Dairy Farm, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang

For more helpful tips, head to our living in Singapore section. Read on for more great features:

The expat’s guide on where to live in Singapore

Could Singapore run out of water?

Want to volunteer in Singapore?