Singapore

Quality of life in Singapore

Singapore is the futuristic bridge between East and West. It is an attractive site for startups, offering access to capital and a highly qualified workforce. When it comes to culture, the city is a dense mix of Chinese, Indian and Malay as well as Western influences. Despite Singapore’s high urban density, it remains as one of the greenest cities in the world—nearly half of its compact land area is filled with lush greenery.

Singapore is one of the top ten city matches for 42.0% of Teleport users.

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Life quality score

City ranking

Housing

2
253/265
Details
Large apartment$2800.00
Medium apartment$2300.00
Rent index [score]0.17
Small apartment$1900.00

Cost of Living

3
234/248
Details
5km taxi ride$5.90
A Cappuccino$4.50
A beer$4.40
A kilogram of Apples$3.70
Bread$1.40
Inflation [score]0.35
Lunch$10.00
Monthly fitness club membership$110.00
Monthly public transport$73.00
Movie ticket$8.40
Price of a meal at a restaurant$64.30

Startups

9
13/264
Details
Average monthly increase in number of startups48
Average monthly increase in number of startups [score]0.89
Coworking spaces [score]0.71
Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co61
Meetups [score]0.84
Meetups groups200
Meetups members184917
Number of investors788
Number of startup events in the last 12 months5228
Number of upcoming meetup events137
Startup climate scene [score]0.85
Startup events798
Startup events [score]0.99
Startups [score]0.93
Total number of startups1073

Venture Capital

9
12/192
Details
Funding accelerator namesJFDI.Asia
Number of funding accelerators1
Venture capital [score]0.87

Travel Connectivity

3
132/266
Details
Airport hub134
Airport hub [score]0.60

Commute

5
92/255
Details
Human city pagehttp://cities.human.co/details/Singapore/Singapore
Traffic handling [score]0.61

Business Freedom

10
6/264
Details
Business freedom95.00
Business freedom [score]1.00
Freedom from corruption84.00
Freedom from corruption [score]0.93
Lack of labor restrictions90.70
Lack of labor restrictions [score]0.99
Time to open a business2.50
Time to open a business [score]0.99

Safety

10
4/266
Details
Crime rate [score]0.99
Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year0
Guns per 100 residents1
Lack of gun related deaths [score]1.00
Lack of guns [score]1.00
Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score]1.00

Healthcare

8
125/265
Details
Healthcare expenditure [score]0.73
Healthcare quality [score]0.84
Life expectancy (years)83.11
Life expectancy [score]0.98

Education

8
6/240
Details
Best university in rankingNational University of Singapore
Best university ranking24
Country mean scores in PISA math test568.65
Country mean scores in PISA reading test542.22
Country mean scores in PISA science test551.49
PISA math ranking (high school)1
PISA ranking1
PISA ranking (high school) [score]1.00
PISA reading (high school)1
PISA science (high school)1
Percent of happy students0.87
Percent of low performers in PISA math test0.08
Percent of low performers in PISA reading test0.10
Percent of low performers in PISA science test0.10
Percent of top performers in PISA math test0.40
Percent of top performers in PISA reading test0.21
Percent of top performers in PISA science test0.23
University quality [score]0.65

Environmental Quality

8
65/266
Details
Air quality [score]0.71
Cleanliness [score]0.85
Drinking water quality [score]0.80
Urban greenery [score]0.82

Economy

7
6/263
Details
Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area1.36
Currency for urban areaSGD
GDP growth rate0.03
GDP growth rate [score]0.50
GDP per capita$82762.15
GDP per capita [score]1.00

Taxation

10
4/266
Details
Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score]0.99
Income tax level [score]1.00
Profit tax (% of profit)0.19
Time overhead to file company taxes67
VAT (Sales Tax)0.07

Internet Access

8
12/266
Details
Download speed (Mbps)60.83
Internet access (download) [score]0.69
Internet access (upload) [score]1.00
Upload speed (Mbps)57.14

Leisure & Culture

7
51/264
Details
Art galleries206
Art galleries [score]0.93
Cinemas152
Cinemas [score]0.95
Comedy clubs124
Comedy clubs [score]0.84
Concert venues247
Concerts [score]0.86
Historical sites115
Historical sites [score]0.73
Museums109
Museums [score]0.76
Performing art venues137
Performing arts [score]0.87
Sport venues157
Sports [score]0.83
Zoos76
Zoos [score]1.00

Tolerance

6
174/266
Details
LGBT Equality Index31.82
LGBT Equality Index [score]0.30
LGBT adoption rights✖ Illegal
LGBT age of consent✖ Unequal
LGBT blood donation regulations✔ Legal
LGBT conversion therapy regulations✖ Not banned
LGBT discrimination legality✖ No protections
LGBT employment discrimination legality✖ No protections
LGBT gender changing rights✔ Legal, but requires surgery
LGBT homosexuality rights✔ Male illegal, female legal
LGBT housing discrimination legality✖ No protections
LGBT marriage rights✖ Not legal
Tolerance towards minorities [score]1.00

Outdoors

6
39/266
Details
Elevation (hills or mountains) [score]0.24
Median peak in meters565.00
Seaside access1.00
Urban area elevation (meters)15.00
Water access [score]0.93
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Cost of living

Costs of living in Singapore are in the most expensive 10 percent of all 248 Teleport cities. Average living expenses are significantly higher compared to other cities, especially in the housing market. Moving to Singapore will very likely increase your daily costs of living. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international  cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.

Housing costs (USD)

$1,800$2,800
$2300
Median rent for
apartments in city center

Daily living costs (USD)

Monthly fitness club membership$110
Movie ticket$8
Broadband internet connection$37
Monthly public transport$73
Lunch$10
-13%
compared to
San Francisco
See more prices and detailed cost of living data in Singapore

Job salary calculator

Software Engineer salaries in Singapore are above average. For this job type, Singapore ranks 106th for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in Singapore.

Estimated annual salary (in USD)

$49,077
Median salary
See more details and salary rankings for all job types in Singapore

Locals review Singapore

Do locals recommend living in Singapore?

What could Singapore do better?#improveSingapore

How could Singapore improve to make it a more liveable city? We will make sure that the local government will know about the suggestions that reach enough votes.
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something that can be improved about your city.

What makes Singapore a special place?#praiseSingapore

Is Singapore a great place to live? What makes it special for you? What makes it liveable? What should others know about? Why should they move here? Why do you love it?
You can be the first! 😊  Tell us something nice about your city.

Taxation

Personal taxation

Effective income tax rate

3%
For annual salary of $40000
6%
For annual salary of $80000

Value added tax (VAT)

7%
Standard tax rate. Different rates might apply for certain product categories.

Compared to other cities

1/266

Corporate taxation

Compared to other cities

7/263
See more details on taxation in Singapore
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Safety

Gun crimes & Ownership

0.50
Guns per 100 people
0.16
Gun deaths per 100k people / year
HIGH GUN CRIMELOW GUN CRIMEFEW GUNSMANY GUNS
North America
Europe
Asia
South America
Africa
Oceania

Overall crime rate city ranking

The overall crime rate puts Singapore in position 8 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.

WORSTBEST
See more details on gun crime and safety in Singapore

Visa

For visits up to 90 days

Required with citizenship of

Startup Visa

EntrePass
Investment requiredFunding providedDuration
YesNo1 year
Get more information about visas in Singapore here
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Explore the streets of Singapore

People in Singapore

Population of Singapore

5,200,600
1,115 /km²
117/264
Density (people per unit of area)
12%
Growth in 2015-2020
Singapore

Demographics of Singapore

Median age
34
Elderly people
9%
Life expectancy at birth
85
GDP per capita (in USD)
$82,762
3/263
Unemployment
2%
7/264

Languages

English proficiency score
64
116/228
Common spoken languages
English
Chinese

Friends living in Singapore

Find out which of your friends are living in Singapore. Nothing is better than knowing a local 😉

Teleport Users  X  Singapore

Teleport users who are      Singapore

Work in:

Software Engineer
11.10%
Founder
7.25%
Marketing Manager
5.41%
Web Developer
3.24%
Web Designer
2.96%
Product Manager
2.79%
Project Manager
2.62%
Other
64.62%

Come from:

LGBT rights in Singapore

Discrimination

No Protections

Marriage

Not Legal

Adoption

Illegal

Climate

Average number of days per year without rain

147

Climate type

Tropical Rainforest

Average daily maximum temperature

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Impressions from Singapore

4:42 The Lion City II - Majulah

A video by Keith Loutit

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On living in Singapore

Singapore (Chinese: 新加坡; Malay: Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர்) is a city-state in Southeast Asia. Founded as a British trading colony in 1819, since independence it has become one of the world's most prosperous countries and boasts one of the world's busiest ports. The food is legendary, with bustling hawker centres and 24-hour coffee shops offering affordable food from all parts of Asia. Combining the skyscrapers and subways of a modern, affluent city with a medley of Chinese, Malay and Indian influences and a tropical climate, with tasty food, good shopping and a vibrant nightlife scene, this Garden City makes a great stopover or springboard into the region.

The country has a partly deserved reputation for sterile predictability that has earned it descriptions like William Gibson's "Disneyland with the death penalty" or the "world's only shopping mall with a seat in the United Nations". Nevertheless, the Switzerland of Asia is for many a welcome respite from the poverty, dirt and corruption of much of the Asian mainland. If you scratch below the squeaky clean surface and get away from the tourist trail you'll soon find more than meets the eye.

Singapore is a small country on a small island, but with just over five million people it is a fairly crowded city and in fact second only to Monaco as the world's most densely populated country. However, unlike many other densely populated countries, Singapore has over 50% of its area covered by greenery and with over 50 major parks and 4 nature reserves, it is an enchanting garden city. Large self-contained residential towns mushroomed all over the island, around the clean and modern city centre. The centre of the city is located in the south and consists roughly of the Orchard Road shopping area, the Riverside, the new Marina Bay area and also the skyscraper-filled Shenton Way financial district. All of this is known in acronym-loving Singapore as the CBD (Central Business District) or, more simply, just town.

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Good Country Index

Every city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.

Overall ranking

Singapore
21st from a total of 163 countries

World Order

123rd

Refugees hosted

Refugees generated

Charity giving

Birth rate

UN Treaties signed

International Peace & Security

45th

Dues in arrears to UN peace keeping budgets

International violent conflict

Peacekeeping troops

Arms exports

Internet security (2014)

Planet & Climate

14th

Ecological footprint

Reforestation since 1992

Hazardous pesticides exports

CO2 emissions

Ozone

Prosperity & Equality

7th

Development assistance

FDI outflows

Fairtrade market size

UN volunteers abroad

Open trading

Culture

25th

Freedom of movement

Press freedom

Creative services exports

UNESCO dues in arrears as % of contribution

Creative goods exports

Science & Technology

23rd

Nobel prizes

Patents

Journal exports

International publications

International Students

Health & Wellbeing

34th

Pharmaceutical exports

Voluntary excess donations to the WHO

Food aid

Humanitarian aid donations

International Health Regulations Compliance

See details ▽

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