Singapore is one of the richest countries in the world, according to many metrics. However, that does not mean that severe financial insecurity doesn’t exist in the city state. Indeed, there’s even a term given for having serious financial worries – “peniaphobia”.
In a place as prosperous as Singapore, it might seem perverse that peniaphobia exists. Yet, the latest data from the Department of Statistics Singapore shines a light on how the poorest in Singapore live.
So, here’s a breakdown on the state of peniaphobia in Singapore and what Singapore’s bottom 10% (by income) actually earn, spend, and save.
Read Also: What’s The Median Salary In Singapore (At Every Age, Gender, Education and Race)
How Much The Bottom 10% Of Singaporeans Earn
As with any data that look at the poorest (or richest), it comes down to monthly income levels to determine which percentile they lie within the population.
So what constituted being in the bottom 10% of Singaporeans by income? Well, in 2024 the median monthly household employment income (per household member and including CPF contributions) was $3,615. But the figure for the bottom 10% was far below that at just $748 per month.
Surprisingly, despite that, the bottom 10% of earners actually saw the largest percentage income increase year-on-year (3.2%) across all deciles, and equalling the top 10% of earners’ 3.2% year-on-year increase.
A more comprehensive report by the Department of Statistics Singapore that was released in November 2024, titled “Report on the Household Expenditure Survey 2023”, shines more light on the bottom 20% of Singaporeans – or the 1st to 20th percentile.
Here, the figure for average monthly household income (from all sources) per household member was $1,120. Meanwhile, the average monthly household income (including from multiple household members) for the 1st to 20thpercentile was $3,254.
Average Monthly Household Income from All Sources by Income Quintile
Source: Singapore Department of Statistics
How Much The Bottom 10% Of Singaporeans Spend & Save
That last point was striking because, having pulled in an average of $3,254 per month for each household in the 1st to 20th percentile, the monthly spending (outgoings) of that group was nearly identical.
Indeed, the average monthly household expenditure for the 1st to 20th percentile (by income) was S$3,233 – implying that the average household income actually matched their outgoings and, therefore, there were little to no savings at the headline level for the bottom 20% of Singaporeans.
Average Monthly Household Expenditure by Income Quintile
Source: Singapore Department of Statistics
But what did they spend their average monthly income on? The majority of it went down to the usual suspects of housing, food, and transport. As essential categories for survival, it’s no surprise that these costs made up the bulk of their spending.
In terms of their online spending, the 1st to 20th percentile saw online spending take up an 8.1% share of their monthly expenditure, up from just 2.6% in 2017/2018 – suggesting that they’re increasingly using the Internet to spend on essentials as well as discretionary goods.
Read Also: How Much Does The Average Singaporean Household Spend Each Month On Groceries?
Uncertainty Lingers For The Bottom Income Earners In Singapore
It’s clear from the various data points that those in either the bottom 10% or 20% of Singaporeans – by income – are living “pay cheque to pay cheque”. In other words, saving anything is nearly impossible given their levels of income versus their expenditures on daily necessities.
Indeed, nothing illustrates that better than the distribution of source of household income – in terms of paid employment, self-employment, and non-employment sources. For the bottom 20%, most of this monthly income (53%) came from “non-employment sources” in 2023, while “paid employment” contributed 38.7% of the average by source.
This is opposed to the top 20% of Singaporeans, where nearly three-quarters of their average monthly income is from paid employment and just 18.3% is derived from non-employment sources.
Overall, it’s a signal that uncertainty is an ever-present factor for the bottom 20% of Singaporeans as stable employment and predictable income are never a given.
