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Indians in Singapore
India has the largest diaspora in the world and as per the Ministry of External Affairs, there are 3.2 Crores or 32 million Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) residing outside India.
As per the Ministry of External Affairs report, there are 650,000 (6.5 Lakh) Indians residing in Singapore.
- Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) – 300,000 (3 Lakh)
- Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) – 350,000 (3.5 Lakh)
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Singapore Indian population
Indian Singaporeans make up around 9% of the Singapore population and approx population of Indians in Singapore as of 2024 is 7 Lakh. Indian Singaporeans have diverse backgrounds, with ethnic Tamils and Hindus forming majorities. Others are Malayalees, tracing their heritage to Kerala & Punjabi, Gujarati, and Sindhi communities) constitute 7.67% of the Singaporean Indian populace.
The remaining 29.68% is composed of many smaller groups with ancestry from both southern India (such as the Telugus) and northern India (such as the Hindustanis, the Malay colloquial term for Hindi-speaking Indians), or ethnically mixed Singaporeans with paternal Indian ancestry.
Population Profile of Singapore Indians
- Tamils – 54.18%
- Malayali Kerala – 7.57%
- Punjabi – 5.35%
- Gujarati – 1.18%
- Sindhi -1.14%
- Others – 29.8% (Telugu, Bengali & Goans)
Source: MEA report about overseas Indian population.
Religion of Indian population in Singapore
The majority of Indian Singaporeans are Hindus. Other religions Indians follow are Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, and Buddhism.
According to the latest 2020 Census, 57.3% of Singapore’s Indian population declared themselves as Hindus, including 23.4% Muslims, 12.6% Christians, 4.6% other religions, and 2.2% non-religious.
also read about religion in Singapore