SINGAPORE: Singapore’s rough sleeping population has shrunk by about 40 per cent, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) on Nov 11, 2022.
The nationwide, single-night street count found 530 rough sleepers, down from a 921 figure first unearthed in a pioneering 2019 study by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, a graduate school at the National University of Singapore.
In a news release on Monday (Apr 24), MSF said this “significant decrease” now meant that for every 100,000 people in Singapore, about nine were sleeping rough.
“The reduction in the number of rough sleepers reflects progress in whole-of-society efforts to engage and support rough sleepers,” the ministry added. “While much work remains to be done, the incidence of rough sleeping is lower than global cities such as New York (40) and Hong Kong (21).”
MSF defines “rough sleepers” as people sleeping in public spaces, and “homeless” as those without access to adequate housing.
“Not all homeless persons may have slept rough, as they may have had alternative accommodation … while seeking long-term stable housing,” it noted in a report on the findings.
In 2021, a follow-up study by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy found – in a cumulative count over several months – that while the number of “street homeless” people had fallen to 616, occupancy of temporary shelters had increased from 65 to 420.
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