Indians now make up almost a quarter of the 1.79 million foreigners in Singapore, reported The Straits Times. The number of Indian nationals on the island has doubled from 200,000 to 400,000 in the last two years, it added, quoting the Indian High Commission.
So what's the ethnic composition of Singapore's total population, which has now grown to 4.98 million?
We know the racial makeup of Singapore's 3.73 milllion resident population: 74.2 per cent Chinese, 13.4 per cent Malay, 9.2 per Indian, with others making up 3.2 per cent.
The resident population includes the 533,200 permanent residents and the 3.2 million Singapore citizens.
The government reports only the total population and the resident population, not the number of foreigners. (See Statistics Singapore's latest data.)
The difference between the two figures, of course, makes up the non-resident population, who must be foreigners.
The non-resident population now is 1.25 million (4.98 million – 3.73 million).
The Straits Times, however, added the 533,200 permanent residents to the 1.25 million-plus non-resident population to put the number of foreigners at 1.79 million. Fair enough: permanent residents are foreigners too.
But then what's the racial makeup of Singapore citizens?
Singapore in Figures 2010 only shows the racial makeup of the resident population. Once you take the permanent residents out of that group, is there any change in the balance? The 533,000 permanent residents make up almost one-seventh of the 3.73 million resident population.
And what about the 1.25 million foreigners who are not permanent residents?
The Straits Times reported almost one out of four foreigners in Singapore is an Indian by lumping the permanent residents with the other foreigners.
So what about the rest?
The Straits Times obtained the number of Indian nationals from the Indian High Commission.
How about finding out the rest from the other embassies?
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