Country Facts: What you need to know about Singapore

With attractive financial rewards and ample opportunities for advancement, working in Singapore offers a promising and exciting career in a vibrant and cosmopolitan environment. We can help you settle down with ease with Citibank Home Saver – A home loan with all the features you need in one simple account.

Harmony in Race: The population is approximate. 3.87 million, made up of four major races with the Chinese representing the largest group.

Singapore has a very high standard of living for expatriates and the city has one of the best living conditions in Southeast Asia. Imported goods are rather expensive but it is possible to economize by buying local products. Many expatriates enjoy a Housing Allowance and are housed on the expense of their employers, thus eliminating substantial costs of renting homes in Singapore. The private rental market almost exclusively concentrates on expatriates, as locals enjoy the provision of low cost public housing.

Currently Singapore ranks place 19 (index 102 points) amongst Economist Intelligence Unit's worldwide cost of living survey (March 2005) of over 130 global cities. Singapore remains among the 20 most expensive cities to live in and is even pricier than New York (100 index points).

Rental prices for accommodaction have recently increased again. See Housing Market

For the current situation of rental prices see here.

Enormous prices and some other restrictions prevent most foreigners on short assignments of buying a property in Singapore.

But it makes sense if you plan to start your own business and have a long term plan to stay in Singapore.
For more information how to select a property follow the Rental Guide.

View a selection of Homes for rent and appoint our partner Knight Frank to assist you with for free.

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Foreigners can rent HDB flats at a lower rate .Expatriates on a strained home allowance are offered a low cost alternative by the Government called SHIFT, a Scheme for Housing Foreign Talents.

While Public Transport is quite affordable buying and driving a car is very expensive as before registering a vehicle you have to bid for a Certificate of Entitlement (COE). To save costs many companies do not provide expatriates with cars any more but rather pay a taxi allowance. Another alternative is to lease a car.

If Education is not offered by the employer children of expatriates with employment passes, skilled work permit holders or permanent residents can be admitted to Government or Aided Schools with fees much lower than those of private schools.

Energy cost to consider when renting a home: to run a multi-split air-con unit to cool two rooms for eight hours daily costs about S$ 50 month while running a 400-litre frost free fridge 24 hours daily costs S$ 20.00 a month. See also Personal Utility Accounts and the web sites mentioned to estimate your consumption.

Photo: City Scoops Media (3)

Please note that you may be also responsible for the maintenance of your air conditions monthly or bi-monthly, which includes servicing and chemical treatment on top of paying your electricity bill which may be quite high due to the number of air conditioning units in your home. Info on maintenance cost of airconditon per unit

Note: Consumer awareness to save energy is slowly created by the government. A voluntary label scheme designed to inform consumers about the energy efficiency of appliances on the market is hopefully soon mandatory. The labels are yellow, with one tick for the least efficient and four ticks for the most efficient products. You should ask your landlord to replace old air-condition units only with 4-tick labelled units. This can save you about SGD 1,500 per unit in 18 months! However, landlords are reluctant to do so, as these units are about 1.500 SGD more expensive....

While many employers pay for medical treatment of their foreign employees in part or full, those not refunded or privately insured may join a low-cost insurance scheme called Med Shield or Med Shield Plus. Costs for private treatment and medication are high. See Health Insurance

Expatriate Living Costs (ELC) In Singapore, a regularly updated guide on the cost of living of expatriate families in Singapore, provides detailed information ranging from accommodation, food, and transportation to entertainment expenses, education, medical expenses and personal income tax. Order at the SICC or Asia Connect via Internet: