MALAYSIANS make up 44% of migrants living and working in Singapore, followed by Chinese, who make up 18%, Straits Times reports, quoting figures from the United Nations.

The third largest group of migrants, Indonesians, make up 6.4%.

They are followed by Indians (5.9%), Pakistanis (5.1%) and Bangladeshis (3.2%). Migrants from Hong Kong and Macau together make up 3.3%.

The number of migrants in Singapore has tripled in the last 30 years, from 727,262 in 1990 to 2.16 million last year, boosting the city state’s population from three million to 5.7 million last year, figures from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs show.

Permanent residents, work pass holders and their dependents, students as well as those who have acquired the Singapore passport fall under the category of migrants.

The UN figures showing Malaysians to be consistently the biggest group of Singapore’s migrants also debunk the belief that the majority of its foreigners are from China and other parts of Southeast Asia.

In the last 30 years, the proportion of Malaysian migrants has shot up from 27%, or 195,072, in 1990, to 44%, or 952,261 last year.

In comparison, Chinese migrants have remained under 20% of the total foreign population except in 1990, when it was 21%. This works out to 380,145 last year from 150,447 in 1990. The percentage of Indonesian migrants have doubled, meanwhile, from 3% in 1990 to 6.4% last year, or 21,520 in 1990 to 138,338 last year.

A National Population and Talent Division spokesman said: “Numerous factors affect the mix of countries from which people come to work or settle in Singapore. They include the attractiveness of Singapore through family ties, economic needs, geographical proximity, as well as the situation in their home country and other possible destinations.” – January 19, 2020.