Even as the population birthrate falls, Singapore’s issue of overcrowding still remains, as more and more foreigners migrate to Singapore. Singapore is even expected to reach a population of 6.9 million in 2030, of which citizens would only form 55 percent of.

 

The idea is that as Singapore suffers low birthrates and an ageing population, foreign talent could still be enticed in to help Singapore’s GDP growth, and the Singapore government thus plans for even more immigrants to come into Singapore, shown by the Population White Paper released in 2013.

 

Singapore citizens are extremely unhappy about this, evidenced from the White Paper protests held at the Speaker’s Corner in 2013.

The government’s response was conciliatory in nature, with PM Lee making an impassioned speech to the public live on national television, stating that Singaporeans are “at the heart of all [their] policies”.

 

What do we do about overcrowding?

Singapore’s primary solution is to ensure that infrastructure in Singapore is adequate enough to meet the needs of all residents, investing in public facilities to ensure that quality of life does not drop. As land gets ever scarcer in Singapore, it is up to Singapore’s government to think of ways to maximise the utility gained from the usage of the ever-decreasing amounts of land. And to be fair to the Singapore government, they have indeed been working towards that end.