Tuesday, June 17, 2008


Random: Singapore population growth over the years.

Something surprised me when I was discussing Singapore's population size and distribution with some other international students here at UIUC. I knew Singapore's population is now 4.5 million, and I remember being mildly surprised when I noticed a large transition a long time ago.

Anyway, I went to our statistics board's website and found a nice table on population growth over the years. It does not merely show total Singapore population but distinguishes between foreigners and citizens/PR. I was amazed to find that the foreign population is now more than 20% of the total population! They have been growing at an increasing rate in recent years.

4 comments:

Lam said...

20% is not a lot, considering that globalisation is the key to growth. Don't you see many asians in UIUC as well?

yuen said...

saw your comment on Yawningbread

for some reason, I only found this blog and singabloodypore worth going to regularly, even though I am not interested in gay issues generally; probably I found them politically "open" even though not "neutral", i.e., it is possible to hold a dialog with them, whereas most of the bloggers interested in singapore could not; that ex-scholar that quarrelled with philip yeo (for got his name - obviously you know him), for example, has too big a chip on his shoulder - he understands what you mean but you cannot get him to move forward in the direction you want; I have never understood why people are interested in Mr Brown at all, but then, what do I know about what is popular?

I am retired now; you can find information about me on

sinazen.com - mixed content english chinese new old etc

yuenco.com - a family blog though not much to report

Chee Wai Lee said...

Welcome to my blog, Joe and Yuen. I hadn't realized so many people actually read it.

Joe: 20% was kinda surprising to me. I am now curious about the breakdown of that 20%, for example domestic workers, construction workers and white-collar professionals. Am also curious about how it compares with other global cities.

As for UIUC, I think we have a city population of 100,000 with 50,000 additional students every time semester begins. Of these, I am not sure how many are international students but it is definitely significant. I like it here, it is very cosmopolitan, open and people appreciate and enjoy exchanging cultural views and ideas. We have about 100+ Singaporeans here. Kinda different from a typical US small town, imho.

Yuen: I agree. Yawningbread's an interesting site. Mr. Aw is eloquent and insightful on a number of issues and his articles makes for an interesting read.

I happen to like reading his thoughts where issues of homosexuality is concerned. It gives me a perspective on how people "from the other side" feel and think. I am not gay, but know a number of gay/lesbian people in the US. I can't help but think many of the homophobic sentiments back home may be the result of misinformed stereotypes rooted in their thoughts. My experiences with my homosexual friends have always been normal, though I must admit my immediate feelings were that of mild fear (turns out I'm not his "type" in the first place, hehe).

I forgot if it was Jia Hao who argued with Philip Yeo publicly, but I agree with you that he's rather stubborn (I'm an acquaintance) on various views. I personally do not like the way Philip Yeo handles himself on some of the issues though, particularly that first incident when he decided to shame scholars for breaking their bonds.

Anyway, I take Mr. Brown's site as a comedy site (similar to Talkingcock) where I can relax and laugh at stuff. It's hit-and-miss but imho, mostly hits (*loved* the one about Richard Gere and the birds). I'm not sure if Singapore gets "The Colbert Report", but I consider that the professional US version of the Mr. Brown Show.

Have fun, guys!

Chee Wai Lee said...

Haha, I hadn't realized you blogged, Prof Yuen :P

Am so sorry I had not sent you an email nor kept in touch with you for such a long time, especially after I found out you had retired.

Going through 9 years of grad school has been tough and I think you understand how dangerously I procastinate (like now). I get spaced-out too easily and there always seems to be so many things to do.