21.4% of Singapore citizens are aged 65 and over — Channel NewsAsia

Singapore has reached the status of a “super-aged society”: as of June 2026, 21.4% of its citizens were aged 65 and over. The threshold for this status in the country is considered to be a share of at least 21%, Channel NewsAsia reports, citing the Population in Brief report by the National Population and Talent Division under the Prime Minister’s Office.

The report notes that Singapore counts only the country’s citizens for this indicator, while the United Nations uses data for the entire population. The share of citizens aged 65 and over rose from 13.7% in 2016 to 21.4% in 2026.

More people aged 80 and over

The number of Singapore citizens aged 80 and over increased by 60% over the decade, from 95,000 in 2016 to 152,000 in 2026. The median age of citizens in June was 44.1 years, compared with 43.7 years a year earlier.

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In 2026, there were 2.8 citizens aged 20 to 64 for every citizen aged 65 and over. In 2016, this ratio stood at 4.7. According to the report’s forecast, it will decline to 2.2 by 2035, while more than a quarter of Singaporeans will be aged 65 and over.

Population growth and fewer births

Singapore’s total population reached 6.21 million in June 2026, 1.6% higher than a year earlier. The number of citizens increased by 0.7%, from 3.66 million to 3.68 million, while the number of permanent residents remained at approximately 550,000. The population without citizenship or permanent resident status grew by 3.7%, to 1.98 million, mainly due to an increase in the number of work permit holders.

Meanwhile, the number of marriages between citizens fell by 5.6% in 2025, to 21,671. The number of births among citizens declined by 10.8%, from 29,237 in 2024 to 26,071 in 2025. The fertility rate among residents was 0.87, while the median age of mothers at the birth of their first child rose from 30.3 years in 2015 to 31.9 years in 2025.