SINGAPORE, June 30 — Nearly one in four Singapore residents now identify with no religion, the highest proportion on record, according to new government data that points to a continuing shift towards secularism in the city-state.
The Department of Statistics’ General Household Survey 2025, reported by The Straits Times, found that 23.9 per cent of residents aged 15 and above said they had no religious affiliation, up from 20 per cent in 2020 and 17 per cent in 2010.
The increase was the most significant change in Singapore’s religious landscape over the past five years. Every major religion except Hinduism recorded a decline in its share of the population.
Buddhists remained the largest religious group, making up 30.9 per cent of residents, followed by Christians at 17.1 per cent, Muslims at 15 per cent, Taoists at 7.3 per cent and Hindus at 5.4 per cent. Hinduism was the only religion to grow, edging up from 5 per cent in 2020.
The rise in residents with no religion was seen across all education levels. Among university graduates, Christianity recorded the steepest decline, with its share falling from 28.3 per cent in 2020 to 24.9 per cent in 2025.
Younger Singaporeans were also more likely than older generations to identify as non-religious. More than a quarter, or 26.8 per cent, of residents aged 15 to 24 reported having no religious affiliation, compared with 19.4 per cent of those aged 55 and above.
The sharpest increase came among residents aged 35 to 44, where the proportion with no religion rose from 22.3 per cent to 29 per cent over five years.
The trend was particularly pronounced among Chinese residents, with about one in three now identifying with no religion, up from around one in four in 2020, although Buddhism remained the community’s most widely practised faith.
By comparison, Islam continued to be nearly universal among Malay residents, with 98.6 per cent identifying as Muslim, while Hinduism remained the dominant religion among Indian residents at 58.8 per cent.
The survey also highlighted broader cultural shifts beyond religion. English strengthened its position as the most frequently spoken language at home, used by nearly six in 10 residents aged five and above, up from 48.3 per cent in 2020.
At the same time, the use of Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and Chinese dialects at home all declined. Chinese dialect use nearly halved, dropping from 8.7 per cent to 4.9 per cent, even as bilingual literacy improved across Singapore’s three main ethnic groups.