Migration in Singapore
So I recently just finished the book entitled "Factory Girls" by Leslie T Chang. A good book in my opinion, although there was a sub-plot in the novel that I truly did not understand the significance of. This books deals with the author's experience with migrant workers in China; these refer to the local people that conduct rural to urban migration so as to generate income for their family, which live out in the farm. The book gave me a good insight on what the life of a migrant is like and how it contradicts my initial thoughts on the subject. However that is not what I want to write to my readers about.
So upon finishing the book I thought about the migrant workers in China and what it would be like to meet one of similar backgrounds (coming from a different country to work all for the purpose of income that is) only to realise that I'm in the Little Red Dot, where we take in foreign workers all the time.
According to the CIA factbook, my favourite source for demographics, Singapore has a net migration rate of 15.8 people per every 1000 people! That's the 5th highest in the whole world! This is no surprise when the Singaporean government plans to increase population to up to 7 million, which is 1.5 million higher than our current population. With birth rates being unable to even replace themselves, it would be quite obvious that the government would encourage foreign workers (or as the government likes to call it, "foreign talent") to make up for the decrease in local population. As the years go by in Singapore I see more and more foreign workers in the country, often those from countries nearby such as Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Taiwan. I do see the number of Western workers increase as well, although probably in a smaller proportion when put in the big picture. Needless to say that those coming from a HIC are more educated and arrive with the agenda of exploring a new country and to immerse themselves in the culture (excuse the cliche) while those from an LIC are less educated and arrive with the sole purpose to raise income for their family.
Many expatriates that am in contact with in Jakarta like to refer to Singapore as a beacon of development in South East Asia, where it is a HIC surrounded by places with substantially lower GDP per capita (of course, Singapore is a small country and would still have limitations in terms of GDP compared to other countries, per capita though, it's another issue). I must admit, it is quite amazing that such a small place can do so well, and I am proud to be part of that development.
I am happy that Singapore is open to migrant workers so as to give them a (better) means of generating income. Of course, that has problem in itself, with many jobs being replaced by this "foreign talent". However that seems like a topic more appropriate for another time.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
So upon finishing the book I thought about the migrant workers in China and what it would be like to meet one of similar backgrounds (coming from a different country to work all for the purpose of income that is) only to realise that I'm in the Little Red Dot, where we take in foreign workers all the time.
According to the CIA factbook, my favourite source for demographics, Singapore has a net migration rate of 15.8 people per every 1000 people! That's the 5th highest in the whole world! This is no surprise when the Singaporean government plans to increase population to up to 7 million, which is 1.5 million higher than our current population. With birth rates being unable to even replace themselves, it would be quite obvious that the government would encourage foreign workers (or as the government likes to call it, "foreign talent") to make up for the decrease in local population. As the years go by in Singapore I see more and more foreign workers in the country, often those from countries nearby such as Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Taiwan. I do see the number of Western workers increase as well, although probably in a smaller proportion when put in the big picture. Needless to say that those coming from a HIC are more educated and arrive with the agenda of exploring a new country and to immerse themselves in the culture (excuse the cliche) while those from an LIC are less educated and arrive with the sole purpose to raise income for their family.
Many expatriates that am in contact with in Jakarta like to refer to Singapore as a beacon of development in South East Asia, where it is a HIC surrounded by places with substantially lower GDP per capita (of course, Singapore is a small country and would still have limitations in terms of GDP compared to other countries, per capita though, it's another issue). I must admit, it is quite amazing that such a small place can do so well, and I am proud to be part of that development.
I am happy that Singapore is open to migrant workers so as to give them a (better) means of generating income. Of course, that has problem in itself, with many jobs being replaced by this "foreign talent". However that seems like a topic more appropriate for another time.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
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