S'pore population up at 5.31 million

Singapore's population has increased due to the growth of both the resident and non-resident populations. 

The Department of Statistics, in its Population Trends 2012 report, said the population stood at 5.31 million in June. 

This is 2.5 per cent more than a year ago. 

The department said there were 3.82 million Singapore citizens and permanent residents. 

The rest were non-residents. 

The number of Singapore citizens grew by 0.9 per cent, comparable to the growths in the last couple of years. 

The number of permanent residents increased marginally. 

Growth in the number of non-residents was slightly higher than last year, at 7.2 per cent. 

But the department said it's significantly lower than the double digit percentage increases seen in 2007 and 2008. 

Reflecting the ageing population, the report said the median age of the resident population went up further to 38.4 years. 

The proportion of Singapore residents aged 65 years and over rose to 9.9 per cent from 9.3 per cent last year.