Chinese Singaporeans

This article is about Singaporean residents of Chinese descent or ethnicity. For the article on people with Chinese nationality residing in Singapore, see Chinese nationals in Singapore.

Chinese Singaporeans
新加坡華人/新加坡华人
華裔新加坡人/华裔新加坡人
Chinese Singaporeans playing Chinese chess (Xiangqi) in Chinatown, Singapore.
Total population
2,675,521
75.9% of the Singaporean resident population (2020)[1]
Languages
Religion
Related ethnic groups
foreign Peranakans, Overseas Chinese, Eurasian Singaporeans, Chinese Malaysians, Chinese Indonesians, Chinese Filipinos, Thai Chinese
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Singaporeans

Chinese Singaporeans (traditional Chinese: 新加坡華人/華裔新加坡人; simplified Chinese: 新加坡华人/华裔新加坡人; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Huárén / Huáyì Xīnjiāpōrén) are Singaporeans of Han Chinese ancestry.[2] Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean resident population according to the official census,[3] making them the largest ethnic group in Singapore.[4]

As early as the 10th century, there was evidence of Chinese people trading and settling in Singapore,[5][6] with various Chinese records documenting trading activities and Chinese residents on the island up until the 14th century.[7] Prior to the establishment of Singapore as a British trading port, there was a small population of 120 Malays who were followers of Temenggong Abdul Rahman, and about 20–30 Chinese living on the island.[8] After Singapore became a British colony, there was an influx of male Chinese migrant workers, who would then usually return to their families in China after they had earned enough. There was only a significant number of Chinese residents permanently settling in Singapore during the early to mid-twentieth century, forming the bulk of the Chinese Singaporean population in existence today.[9]

Many Chinese Singaporeans can trace their ancestry to provinces of southeastern China that mainly include speakers of Hokkien, Teochew, and to a lesser extent, Hakka and Cantonese.

  1. ^ "Census 2020" (PDF). Singapore Department of Statistics. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  2. ^ Note that while the English term is ambiguous between "Chinese" (Han) culture and "Chinese" (PRC) nationality, the Chinese terms listed here refer specifically to those of Han Chinese descent.
  3. ^ "Population in Brief 2015" (PDF). Singapore Government. September 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Population Trends 2011" (PDF). Singapore Department of Statistics, Social Statistics Section. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference SingaporeSongDynasty was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference earlyChineseSingaporeans was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference wangDayuanSG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference popofSG3rd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference warren was invoked but never defined (see the help page).