Singapore to cap foreign workforce growth, keep citizens in majority
Why it matters: Lawrence Wong tied immigration to slowing population aging while rejecting broad easing of work permit rules.
Singapore will continue to admit foreign workers and new citizens, but in a controlled way that keeps citizens the majority, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in his National Day Rally speech on Aug. 23. Wong said the government would refresh the citizen population at a measured, sustainable pace while broadly maintaining the country’s current ethnic balance. He argued that relying on births alone would shrink and age the citizen population, leaving fewer younger Singaporeans to support seniors. At the same time, he pushed back on business calls for looser foreign worker rules, saying even modest easing could sharply raise numbers because work permit holders already form the biggest share of foreign pass holders.