Election fever is clearly on upon us. By now, many of us would read about the redrawn electoral division boundaries, released by the Elections Department Singapore (ELD) on 11 March 2025.
We were equally drawn in by the updates, and one of our immediate thoughts was far from politics – properties. To be more exact, we wondered how closely or differently the electoral boundaries reflected the current postal codes that we live in.
How Singapore’s Electoral Boundaries Differ From Postal Districts
Before even discussing the topic, it’s important to note that any similarities or differences we “uncover” is purely to pique our interests – because the two maps have entirely separate use cases.
We were able to find the map by Electoral Division quite easily on OneMap, by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). Depending on the area we are interested in, we can just as easily zoom into a particular location.
Source: OneMap
According to the ELD, the boundaries are “based on the number of electors found in the latest Registers of Electors” taking into consideration “population shifts and housing development since the last boundary delineation exercise”.
There are 15 Single Member Constituencies and 18 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs):
| Single Member Constituencies (SMC) | 4-MP GRCs | 5-MP GRCs |
| Bukit Batok SMC | Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC | Aljunied GRC |
| Bukit Panjang SMC | Chua Chu Kang GRC | Ang Mo Kio GRC |
| Hougang SMC | Holland-Bukit Timah GRC | East Coast GRC |
| Jalan Kayu SMC | Jalan Besar GRC | Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC |
| Jurong Central SMC | Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC | Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC |
| Kebun Baru SMC | Pasir Ris-Changi GRC | Nee Soon GRC |
| Marymount SMC | Punggol GRC | Sembawang GRC |
| Mountbatten SMC | Sengkang GRC | Tampines GRC |
| Pioneer SMC | Tanjong Pagar GRC | |
| Potong Pasir SMC | West Coast-Jurong West GRC | |
| Queenstown SMC | ||
| Radin Mas SMC | ||
| Sembawang West | ||
| Tampines Changkat | ||
| Yio Chu Kang SMC |
On the other hand, finding a Singapore map divided by postal districts via a Government-related source for free was far more challenging than we expected. While anyone interested in properties would already have formed this image in our minds, the best we could do scouring the internet is this image from CNA.
Source: CNA
Singapore is divided into 28 postal districts, primarily for logistics of mail delivery back then. Survey maps bearing the postal districts can be traced back to the 1940s, and was finalised in 1950. Since then, it has remained largely unchanged – quite unlike electoral boundaries, which are reviewed before every election.
In case it’s not entirely clear from the image above, here’s the general locations breakdown:
| Postal District | General Location | Postal District | General Location |
| 01 | Raffles Place, Cecil Marina, People’s Park | 15 | Katong, Joo Chiat, Amber Road |
| 02 | Anson, Tanjong Pagar | 16 | Bedok, Upper East Coast, Eastwood, Kew Drive |
| 03 | Queenstown, Tiong Bahru | 17 | Loyang, Changi |
| 04 | Telok Blangah, Habourfront | 18 | Tampines, Pasir Ris |
| 05 | Pasir Panjang, Hong Leong Garden, Clementi New Town | 19 | Serangoon Garden, Hougang, Punggol |
| 06 | High Street, Beach Road (part) | 20 | Bishan, Ang Mo Kio |
| 07 | Middle Road, Golden Mile | 21 | Upper Bukit Timah, Clementi Park, Ulu Pandan |
| 08 | Little India | 22 | Jurong |
| 09 | Orchard, Cairnhill, River Valley | 23 | Hillview, Dairy Farm, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang |
| 10 | Ardmore, Bukit Timah, Holland Road, Tanglin | 24 | Lim Chu Kang, Tengah |
| 11 | Watten Estate, Novena, Thomson | 25 | Kranji, Woodgrove |
| 12 | Balestier, Toa Payoh, Serangoon | 26 | Upper Thomson, Springleaf |
| 13 | Macpherson, Braddell | 27 | Yishun, Sembawang |
| 14 | Geylang, Eunos | 28 | Seletar |
While the Singapore map divided by postal district has its roots in the logistics of postal delivery, many of us currently see it in comparison for property prices.
Properties in the Core Central Region (CCR) are those in the (Postal) Districts 9, 10, 11 and parts of 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7. Properties in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) are in Districts 3, 8 and 12, and parts of 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15 and 20; and those Outside of Central Region (OCR) are in Districts 16 to 19, 21 to 28, and parts of 5, 14, 15 and 20.
Read Also: CCR, RCR, OCR: What Do These District Classifications Mean When Looking For Your Property Purchase
What Are The Main Differences From The Postal Code Districts
If we look at the two maps side by side, we can definitely see some differences already. We compare some of the ones that stand out most (to us at least).
District 18 / Tampines GRC and Tampines Changkat SMC
One interesting segregation is Tampines GRC and Tampines Changkat SMC. While most of Tampines falls within the Tampines GRC, the Tampines Changkat SMC also lies entirely within District 18 as well.
To be fair though, parts of Pasir Ris also falls within District 18. But, the Tampines GRC is separate from the Pasir Ris-Changi GRC – which also makes up a “logical” GRC based on geographic location.
District 15 / Mountbatten SMC; Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC; and East Coast GRC
Another one that stood out is in District 15, and in particular Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC. Rather than include parts that are more homogenous, at least when referencing housing projects and postal districts, Marine Parade-Braddell Heights include parts of Chai Chee Ubi, Tai Seng, Bartley, Serangoon and even Lorong Chuan – which falls as far away as District 19, and with other parts in District 14 and District 16.
Ironically, where many of us would place Braddell in our minds will not be in the Marine Parade-Braddel Heights GRC. The Braddell MRT station falls in the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.
In turn, other parts of district 15 would have included most of Mountbatten, the bottom half of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC and parts of Siglap within the East Coast GRC.
District 28 / Yio Chu Kang SMC; and Ang Mo Kio GRC
District 28 encompasses several estates including Seletar, Yio Chu Kang and Fernvale.
One thing we found interesting is that Yio Chu Kang MRT itself falls within Ang Mo Kio GRC, rather than Yio Chu Kang SMC. On the other hand, parts of Ang Mo Kio also falls within the Yio Chu Kang SMC.
District 5 / West Coast-Jurong West GRC
The West Coast-Jurong West GRC is a large one, and has the second largest number of electors – behind only Ang Mo Kio GRC.
When it comes to thinking about properties by the postal districts, not many of us will expect to see homes in Clementi and homes in Jurong West and Boon Lay to be within the same classification.
District 2 / Tanjong Pagar GRC
When we think about Tanjong Pagar and District 2, a relatively small location comes to mind. What may take some people by surprise is that Tanjong Pagar MRT station does not fall in Tanjong Pagar GRC. Instead, it is in the Jalan Besar GRC.
Looking at the Tanjong Pagar GRC, it includes housing estates from Novena to Bukit Merah and even up to Dover and One North falls within it. These comprise estates from that may come from District 5 to up to District 11.
While doing our research, it was interesting to see that some MRT stations that were reflected in the constituencies were not within the electoral boundaries. But, we have to remember that the Postal Districts have remained largely consistent with the initial version that was implemented in 1950. On the other hand, electoral boundaries are fluid – and are redrawn before each General Election.
The Districts that we discussed above also just some that we found to be interesting, based on which electoral boundaries they resided in. We are equally sure there are other interesting Postal Districts that have been carved into different constituencies, especially those at the edges of the electoral boundaries.
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