CENSUS OF POPULATION 2020
Literacy & Home Language
Literacy rate remained high and most are literate in more than one language.
LITERACY RATE

The literacy rate among the resident population aged 15 and over remained high at 97.1 per cent in 2020.

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Literate
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Not Literate
MULTI-LANGUAGE LITERACY

Multi-language literacy became more prevalent. Among those who were literate, more could read in two or more languages.

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Literate in 2 or more languages
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Literate in 1 language
LANGUAGE MOST/SECOND MOST FREQUENTLY SPOKEN AT HOME

The use of English as the language most frequently spoken at home among resident population aged 5 and over increased to 48.3 per cent in 2020.

2010
2020

Among those who spoke English most frequently at home, a majority of them also spoke a mother tongue language or dialect as a secondary language.

Religion
Singapore remained multi-religious in 2020.
Over the last 10 years, Singapore continued to be religiously diverse.

*Includes Chinese Traditional Beliefs.

PROPORTION OF RESIDENTS WITH NO RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION BY AGE GROUP

Higher proportion of residents reported no religious affiliation across all age groups.

Married Couples
In 2020, majority of married couples were dual-career couples.
The proportion increased over the past 10 years.
ACROSS ALL AGE GROUPS,
2010
2020

Age Group of Couple*

2010
2020

*For married couples where the husband and wife are not in the same age group, it refers to the age group of the older party.

Geographical Distribution & Transport
With a total population of 5.69 million in 2020, there was an average of
7,810 persons per square kilometer in Singapore.
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Outram had the highest proportion of residents aged 65 years and over.

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Punggol had the highest proportion of residents aged below 5 years.

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Outram
25.5%
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Punggol
9.3%
Top 3 Areas Where Residents Work

Among all employed residents aged 15 years and over with a fixed location for work, Downtown Core, Queenstown and Geylang were the top 3 areas where employed residents travelled to for work.

2
Queenstown
131,800
3
Geylang
116,500
1
Downtown Core
284,000
Main Mode of Transport for Students
2010 2020
Primary and Below: No Transport Required 46.2% 43.0%
Secondary: Public Bus Only 42.1% 36.9%
Post-Secondary(Non-Tertiary):
MRT/LRT & Public Bus Only		 29.4% 44.2%
Polytechnic Diploma:
MRT/LRT & Public Bus Only		 34.6% 49.7%
Professional Qualification and Other Diploma: MRT/LRT & Public Bus Only 38.3% 48.9%
University: MRT/LRT & Public Bus Only 43.7% 51.1%
Mode of Transport & Median Travelling Time for Employed Residents
The use of combinations of MRT/LRT or public bus to work increased to 57.7% in 2020.
Combinations of MRT/LRT or Public Bus
Combinations of MRT/LRT or Public Bus
Median Travelling Time 2010 2020
Combinations of MRT/LRT or Public Bus
0|
0min
Public Bus Only
0|
0min
MRT/LRT Only
0|
0min
MRT/LRT & Public Bus Only
0|
0min
Other Combinations
0|
0min
Car/Taxi/Private Hire Car Only
0|
0min
Other Modes
0|
0min
No Transport Required
0|
0min
Difficulty Performing Basic Activities*
*Basic activities refer to seeing, hearing, mobility (walking or climbing steps), remembering or concentrating, self-care (washing all over or dressing), and communicating (understanding or being understood). Data on difficulty performing basic activities were captured for the first time in Census 2020.
Residents Unable to Perform / with A Lot of Difficulty in At Least One Basic Activity

Residents with a lot of difficulty** performing activities relating to mobility constituted the largest group, followed by self-care.

By Age and Sex

Elderly faced more difficulty performing basic activities.

Unable to Perform / with A Lot of Difficulty in At Least One Basic Activity

Males

Females

By Elderly Living Arrangement #

Majority of elderly with a lot of difficulty** lived with other people.

Unable to Perform / with A Lot of Difficulty in At Least One Basic Activity

Living with Spouse, No Children
Living with Spouse, With Children
Living with Children but Without Spouse
Alone
Others

#Resident Population Aged 65 Years and Over in Resident Households.

By Dwelling Type

Proportionately more residents with a lot of difficulty** lived in HDB 3-room or smaller flats.

Without A Lot of Difficulty in Performing Any Basic Activity

Unable to Perform / with A Lot of Difficulty in At Least One Basic Activity

^ Includes HDB studio apartments.

^^ Refers to other types of dwelling not shown e.g. non-HDB shophouses, etc.

By Labour Force Participation Rate

Proportionately fewer residents with a lot of difficulty** were in the labour force.

Without A Lot of Difficulty in Performing Any Basic Activity
Unable to Perform / with A Lot of Difficulty in At Least One Basic Activity

** Includes those unable to perform at least one basic activity.

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For more information please refer to the Census of Population 2020 publication.