By Michael DeGolyer
5 December 2016

In December 2016, Civic Exchange published a report on urban-wellbeing indicators in Singapore. To download the report, click on the PDF icon above.

As part of Civic Exchange’s commitment to promoting public policy research and civic engagement, we will make the Asian Urban-Wellbeing Indicators database available to the public as long as research findings derived from the data are shared with Civic Exchange. To make a data request enquiry, please download the form below and return it to [email protected].

Download Asian Urban Wellbeing Index First Wave 2015-16 Data Sharing Form

Key Singapore Findings

• Overall, people are satisfied with life in Singapore. Respondents gave themselves an average life satisfaction score of 7.1, compared to 7.4 in Shanghai and 5.8 in Hong Kong .
• 67% think Singapore has become “better” or “much better” as a place to live since they started living there.
• 74% would prefer to stay in Singapore, even if they had the freedom to live anywhere in the world.
• Singapore is perceived as very child friendly, with 87% saying Singapore is a “good” or “very good” place for children to grow up.
• Medical care was the top priority, with 20% of respondents wanting the government to make it their no. 1 concern.  The polling was conducted in autumn 2015, which coincided with reforms to Medishield Life, Singapore’s national health insurance scheme.
• The 2nd priority was “work and business opportunities” (16%), followed by housing (15%)

Additional Singapore Findings

• Singaporeans are ambivalent about retirement, with 4 in 10 saying Singapore was “not so good” or “not good at all” as a place for retirees to live. Current retirees, however, are more satisfied with retirement than those currently in the workforce.
• The desire to leave rises steeply with education. 38% of those with postgraduate degrees would prefer to leave, compared to 17% of those with secondary school education, and 3% of those with primary school education. Singapore may have some concerns about “brain drain.”
• Citizens are less satisfied than non-citizens across a broad range of measures. 65% of citizens gave themselves a life satisfaction score of 7 or higher (scale of 0-10), vs. 76% of non-citizens. This may reflect the optimism of immigrants who have chosen to come to Singapore for better opportunities.

Press materials

•Press release [EN]

•Download PTT presentation at symposium on 5 December 2016 [EN1] [EN2] [TC1] [TC2]

Media coverage

5 December 2016 – Singapore Business Review – Singapore faces brain drain threat: study
6 December 2016 – The Independent (Singapore) – STUDY: Non-citizens are more optimistic about their future in Singapore and also more satisfied
6 December 2016 – 联合早报 – 港研究所调查： 三分二受访者认为 新加坡变得更宜居
12 December 2016 – Human Resources Director Singapore – ‘Brain drain’ threat to Singapore