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As of June 2025, there were around 3.11 million ethnic Chinese residents in Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic society, with residents categorized into four main racial groups: Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Others. Each resident is assigned a racial category that follows the paternal side. This categorization would have an impact on both official as well as private matters. 

Modelling a peaceful, multi-ethnic society

The racial categorization used in Singapore stemmed from its colonial past and continues to shape its social policies, from public housing quotas along the ethnic composition in the country to education policies pertaining second language, or ‘mother tongue’, instruction. Despite the emphasis on ethnicity and race, Singapore has managed to maintain a peaceful co-existence among its diverse population. Most Singaporeans across ethnic levels view the level of racial and religious harmony there to be moderately high. The level of acceptance and comfort with having people of other ethnicities in their social lives was also relatively high across the different ethnic groups.

Are Singaporeans ready to move away from the CMIO model of ethnic classification?

In recent times, however, there has been more open discussion on racism and the relevance of the CMIO (Chinese, Malay, Indian, Others) ethnic model for Singaporean society. The global discourse on racism has brought to attention the latent discrimination felt by the minority ethnic groups in Singapore, such as in the workplace. In 2010, Singapore introduced the option of having a ‘double-barreled’ race classification, reflecting the increasingly diverse and complicated ethnic background of its population. More than a decade later, there have been calls to do away from such racial classifications altogether. However, with social identity and policy deeply entrenched along these lines, it would be a challenge to move beyond race in Singapore.