Survey on Singaporeans who want to emigrate
Reports by Leong Ching Ching
LIFE in Singapore is too expensive and stressful, said Singaporeans who had considered emigrating.
About 85 per cent said the cost of living was too high, and 78 per cent complained that life was too stressful. More than 70 per cent said housing and cars were expensive, while 68 per cent said there were too many rules and regulations here.
About six in 10 said they thought of moving elsewhere for their children's sake, because the education system here was too stressful.
But only 44 per cent said that they wanted to leave because business opportunities in Singapore were limited and 15 per cent said it was because they had no confidence in the economy.
Significantly, more than half, or 53 per cent, of those who considered emigrating said they would stop thinking about it if the cost of living here was lower.
The next factor which would cause those thinking of leaving to change their minds was having a less stressful education system here, at 8 per cent.
Other attributes often cited for people wanting to leave appeared to matter much less to those thinking of emigrating.
Only 6 per cent of this group said they would drop plans to move elsewhere if there were fewer rules here, while having more freedom of speech or a more gracious society mattered to just 4 per cent.
Where they want to go
AUSTRALIA was the top choice, with 35 per cent of those who thought of emigrating saying they would head there. Malaysia was second, with 13 per cent.
These two top destinations remained the same as those cited by Singaporeans in a similar survey by the Institute of Policy Studies eight years ago.
Other popular destinations are the United States (11 per cent) and Canada (8 per cent).
Not surprisingly, Malay Singaporeans tended to head for Malaysia, while the Chinese preferred Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US.
Of the Malays who had considered migration, 38 per cent signalled Malaysia as their destination, with Australia trailing behind with 25 per cent of the votes.
For Indians, 55 per cent said they wanted to go to Australia, and 18 per cent to Canada.
For Chinese, the top destination was also Australia (34 per cent), followed by the United States and New Zealand. Nine per cent of Chinese voted for Malaysia.
Who's thinking of going
THE survey showed nearly three-quarters of those who had thought of emigration had at least O levels, with 33 per cent having higher qualifications. Also, about two-thirds of this group were white-collar workers and earned more than $2,000, with the largest group (36 per cent) earning between $2,001 and $4,000.
Eight per cent earned $4,000 and above.
Also, 70 per cent of this group lived in four-room flats or bigger, including 15 per cent in private housing.
Who's staying and why
SINGAPORE is a safe place to live in, said nine in 10 of the people who had never thought of emigrating. They say that they are used to the life here (97 per cent). It is economically and politically stable (94 per cent), and their friends and family are here (93 per cent). They are happy to be living here (93 per cent).
Other reasons cited were that Singapore has racial harmony (94 per cent), a wide variety of food (88 per cent), and a good education system (88 per cent).
Fifty-six per cent said the cost of living here is reasonable.