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Singapore
OpinionAsia Opinion
Laavanya Kathiravelu
Laavanya Kathiravelu

Opinion | Singapore’s children of migrants can build bridges to rest of Asia

Rather than viewing some citizens’ immigrant backgrounds as complications to be managed, they should be embraced as competitive advantages

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Young people take photos along a shopping street in Kampong Glam district in Singapore on June 11. Photo: Reuters
Laavanya Kathiravelu

One in three marriages in Singapore is a transnational union. Each year, Singapore naturalises about 20,000 new citizens and grants another 30,000 permanent residency status, many of them children and young people. These two demographic trends are creating a generation of young Singaporeans who are invisible yet in plain sight – ethnically Asian and seamlessly integrated into local life yet carrying deep cultural and familial connections to our regional neighbours.

While debates in the last few years over National Day posters featuring migrants sparked heated discussions about Singaporean identity, we have overlooked a more profound transformation already under way. Singapore is producing a unique population that challenges conventional thinking about immigration and integration: second-generation immigrants who face neither the racial barriers nor the social isolation often experienced by immigrant communities elsewhere.

My four-year research project reveals that Singapore’s approach to integrating the children of migrants has created dual outcomes. On one hand, it has achieved remarkable integration success as these young people blend into Singaporean society. On the other, it has erased their immigrant backgrounds and regional connections, missing a strategic opportunity for soft power.

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Two demographic trends are reshaping Singapore’s population in ways official statistics don’t fully capture.

First is the rise in Singaporean-foreigner marriages, which has remained stable at roughly one-third of all marriages. Initially driven by Singaporean men marrying foreign women, we now also see increasing numbers of Singaporean women marrying foreign men. Most children from these unions take Singapore citizenship while maintaining cultural and linguistic ties to their parents’ countries of origin.
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Second, Singapore’s consistent naturalisation of about 20,000 people annually means a substantial portion of its population consists of first-generation immigrants and their children. While we don’t have precise figures on the second generation, we can confidently assume they’re predominantly from Asia as Singapore’s ethnic composition has remained remarkably stable despite rapid population growth in the past 20 years.
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