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3 Out of Every 4 Singaporeans Are Chinese
Singapore is one of the few countries with a majority ethnic Chinese population. Chinese Singaporeans are individuals of Chinese ethnicity who were born in or immigrated to Singapore and hold Singaporean citizenship or permanent residency (PR). According to data from the Singapore Department of Statistics, in 2024, the total number of Singaporean citizens and permanent residents is 4.18 million, of which 3.09 million are of Chinese descent. They are the largest ethnic group in Singapore, accounting for 75.9% of the resident population. This means that 3 out of every 4 Singaporeans are Chinese.
The Tide of Overseas Immigration
The Earliest Memories
Singapore was founded by the Malays. During the Ming Dynasty, many who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on his voyages settled here. They intermarried with the local population, and their male offspring were called ‘Babas’ and the female offspring ‘Nonyas’. They became the earliest ‘Peranakan Chinese,’ also known as ‘Straits Chinese’.
Singapore’s Forced Independence and the Survival of a Chinese Island
Singapore and Malaysia were once a single federal state known as Malaya. Later, in 1965, because the then Prime Minister of Malaya was dissatisfied with Lee Kuan Yew’s political views, he took the initiative to announce Singapore’s separation from the Federation of Malaya. On August 9, 1965, Singapore was forced into independence. August 9th is now celebrated as Singapore’s National Day.
At that time, Singapore was a Chinese-majority territory. In his memoirs, Lee Kuan Yew mentioned, ‘Our Chinese population was insignificant in an archipelago of 30,000 islands inhabited by over 100 million Malay-Indonesian Muslims. Singapore was a Chinese island in a Malay sea. How were we to survive in such a hostile environment?’
As it turned out, Singapore not only survived but thrived. Relying on its limited geographical resources, it continuously developed its trade and technology, perfected its legal system, improved its infrastructure, and managed its urban environment, becoming a model for other countries and regions. After its forced independence, another large wave of Chinese people migrated to Singapore from places like Malacca and Johor in Malaya.
Ancestral Origins of Singaporean Chinese
Singapore’s development as a trade and commercial hub witnessed the growth of its large Chinese community. The Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, and Hainanese are the five major dialect groups within the Singaporean Chinese community, accounting for about 87.7% of the Chinese resident population.
In terms of ancestral origin, 40% are Hokkien, 20% are Teochew, 15% are Cantonese, 8% are Hakka, and under 7% are Hainanese. The remaining approximately 10% belong to other Chinese ancestral groups.
The ancestral origins of Singaporean Chinese are quite complex and have become increasingly diverse. Intermarriage between different dialect or ancestral groups is very common within the Singaporean Chinese community. However, the classification of dialect or linguistic-cultural group is determined by the father’s ancestry. For example, if the father is Hokkien and the mother is Cantonese, the child would identify as ‘Hokkien’. Some Singaporean Chinese connect with their respective clan associations based on their ancestral origins.
Most Singaporean Chinese speak dialects such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese, and Fuzhou.
According to the first batch of data from the ‘2020 National Population Census’ released by the Singapore Department of Statistics, the populations of the nine major dialect groups in Singapore—Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese, Fuzhou, Henghua, Shanghainese, and Fuqing—have all grown over the past 10 years, with increases ranging from 2.0% to 11.3%.
The largest dialect group, the Hokkiens, increased by 5.5% in 2020, reaching a population of 1,180,599.
Chinese residents from ancestral origins other than the nine dialect groups mentioned above are classified as ‘Other Chinese’. This group saw the most significant increase among all Chinese ancestral groups, totaling 244,529 people last year, a 39.2% increase from 10 years ago.
Ancestral Homelands of the Five Major Dialect Groups
The ancestral homelands of the five major dialect groups of Chinese Singaporeans are mainly from three provinces in China: Fujian Province, Guangdong Province, and Hainan Province. The Cantonese and Teochew people primarily come from Guangdong Province; the Hakka people come from both Guangdong and Fujian provinces. The Hainanese, as the name suggests, come from Hainan Province, and the Hokkien people from Fujian Province.
As can be seen, the ancestral origins of Singaporean Chinese are predominantly in coastal regions. However, in recent years, with the development of modernization, more and more people from coastal cities to the central and western inland areas have also begun to venture abroad to experience different cultures and customs in other countries.
National Identity of the Chinese Population
As one of the few sovereign nations in the world with a majority Chinese population, Singapore has striven to build an independent national identity since its founding. Regarding the Singaporean Chinese identity, former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong once stated that Singaporean Chinese have developed ‘their own unique character,’ which is ‘a cultural identity that has gradually evolved over several generations in a specific social environment.’ Singaporeans will prioritize their national identity, with their ethnic identity being secondary.
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