Is Singapore divided into ethnic groups? Or what kind of bloodline?

Singapore is a multiracial country. The ethnic origins of the residents are complex, with origins from five continents including Asia and Europe, so it is called the "World Ethnology Expo", but its main residents are composed of people of Chinese, Malay and Indian descent. According to the mid-year forecast of 1993, among the country's 2.8738 million population, the number of Chinese is 2.2286 million, accounting for 77.5%; the number of Malays is 407,600, accounting for 14.2%; the number of Indians is 204,100, accounting for 7.1%; and the number of other races is 33,500. , accounting for 1.2%.

1. Chinese

Chinese ancestors have a long history of immigrating to Singapore. According to records in ancient Chinese books, during the Tang and Song Dynasties, Chinese people came to Singapore to engage in economic and trade activities, and some of them settled there. From the middle of the 13th century to the end of the 14th century, during the Sinhapura Kingdom, Singapore was extremely prosperous, with countless merchants from all over the world. The Yuan government not only recognized the country and exchanged envoys with it, but also the people of the two countries had close trade exchanges, and the number of overseas Chinese settling in Singapore was increasing day by day.

Chinese people immigrated to Singapore in large numbers only after the mid-19th century. In the 110 years from 1821 to 1931, Singapore's population increased from 4,727 to 557,700. Among them, the Chinese population increased from 1,159 to 418,600, an increase of 360 times. Until 1931, immigrants accounted for 61% of Singapore's total population, while those born locally accounted for only 39%.

At present, the economic activities and occupations conducted by Chinese in Singapore are almost all-encompassing. There are Chinese in agriculture and fishery, manufacturing, construction, mining industry, water and electricity utilities, transportation and communications, wholesale and retail commerce, foreign trade and hospitality, finance and insurance, real estate, and other service industries. capital and labor. The Chinese occupy an important position in various local economic sectors and are a major component of the local national economy. After the war, especially after Singapore's independence, the majority of overseas Chinese in Singapore considered Singapore their hometown, settled down there, voluntarily chose Singaporean nationality, became Singaporean citizens, and became an integral part of the Singaporean nation.

2. Malays

The Malays are the second largest ethnic group in Singapore. He is of Mongoloid ethnicity, not very tall, and has light brown skin.

The Malays are not the indigenous people of Singapore. Most of the current Malays are descendants of modern Malays (including a very small part of the original Malays) who have lived in Singapore for generations. Their ancestors immigrated to Singapore earlier than the Chinese and Indians. Some have reached dozens of generations.

The inbound movement of the Malays can be roughly divided into two parts according to their time sequence and starting point: the first part is between 2500 and 1000 BC. The ancestors of the original Malays came from central Asia. The area moved into the Malay Peninsula. The second part is from the 7th century AD to the present, who immigrated from the Indonesian islands in the south (such as Sumatra, Java, etc.), and is called the modern and modern Malays. Before 1830, the Malays were the largest ethnic group in Singapore. Later, their number was surpassed by the Chinese and became the second largest ethnic group. During the British colonial period, the Malays were mainly engaged in agriculture, growing crops such as coconut, rubber, pepper, gamba, cassava, and fruits, and also fishing along the coast. After Singapore's independence, most of them participated in the modernization of local economy, culture and education, and made positive contributions to Singapore's economic prosperity.

3. Indians

The "Indians" in Singapore's demographics include those with ancestry from the South Asian subcontinent of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and who have obtained Singaporean citizenship. people. Among them, the majority are descendants of Indians, so they are collectively referred to as "Indians" in writing. It is the third largest ethnic group in Singapore. It is unknown when Indians began migrating to Singapore. From the 12th to the 14th century, the "Xinhabuluo" kingdom was influenced by Indian culture. Indians moved to Singapore in large numbers only after the 1820s. Because at this time both India and Singapore became British colonies. India is a large agricultural country with a large population. The British used the power of their suzerainty to find sources of labor supply from India, which had a large unemployed population, and moved a large number of bankrupt farmers, soldiers, and prisoners to New Zealand and Malaysia to reclaim virgin forests and build ports and docks. , roads, railways and other infrastructure as well as the hard labor of opening plantations. As a result, the number of Indians in Singapore increased year by year: from 132 in 1821 to 50,800 in 1931, an increase of 383.8 times in 110 years. According to the 1947 census, there were 69,000 Indians in Singapore. Among them, native Indians accounted for only 36.3%, while newly arrived Indians accounted for 63.7%. By mid-1993, there were 204,100 Indians in Singapore, an increase of 195.8% from 1947. Indians who entered Singapore after the 19th century were not only reclaiming jungles and working on plantations, they were also used to build roads, ports, docks, bridges, etc. By 1900, almost all railways in Singapore and Malaysia were built by Indian laborers.

With the development and progress of Singapore society, Indians have more opportunities to receive education. Indians have entered various economic fields in Singapore. Many people have become engineers, doctors, teachers and lawyers, and some have entered industry, commerce, finance, and construction. In the industry, some have entered politics and the military and police departments. Although Indians are composed of several ethnic groups, the Tamil people from southern India are the most numerous, so Tamil has become the representative language of Indians. In Singapore, there are both Tamil primary schools and Tamil newspapers.

4. Other races

In Singapore’s population statistics, “other” is often listed, which includes Europeans, Americans, Africans, Oceanians, and other Asians People from other countries (such as Japan, Thailand, Philippines, etc.) and people of mixed Eurasian race, etc. Among them, there are those who have obtained Singapore citizenship and some who are purely foreigners. In 1993, the population of the "other" category was 33,500. Although it accounted for 1.2% of Singapore's total population, most of these people were Singapore's big bankers, big factory owners, business owners, heads of multinational companies, or directors of multinational companies. agents, their economic power in Singapore far exceeds their numbers.