1.2998° N, 103.8010° E

SINGAPORE

Most Famous People Born in Singapore, Singapore

Notable people
1,315
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1973
Most distinctive
Swimmer 4.9×

A city-state whose bench runs from British colonial civil servants to the post-independence technocracy that built modern Singapore. Distinctive professions are swimmers, models, entrepreneurs, singers, actors, business figures, and footballers — the profile of a small, young state that exports sport, finance, and pop at roughly equal densities. Lee Kuan Yew and his government hold down one half of the list; Joseph Schooling and the post-2000 entertainment wave hold down the other.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Singapore during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 255 notable births.

What Singapore Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Singapore's biggest profession — 22% of all notables (290).

Singapore over-indexes on swimmer4.9× the global rate.

Singapore under-produces writer — only 0.5× the global rate.

  1. Football290
  2. Actor154
  3. Politician144
  4. Singer65
  5. Swimmer31
  6. Lawyer31
  7. Business28
  8. Sport25
  1. Swimmer314.9×
  2. Model164.7×
  3. Entrepreneur143.1×
  4. Singer652.4×
  5. Actor1542.2×
  6. Business282.1×
  7. Football2902.0×
  1. Writer200.5×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Singapore's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

18251850187519001925195019752000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Music
  • Art & Design
  • Writing
  • Other
All1,315
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Showing 5 of 1,315 notable people

0820 SWIMMER

Quah Jing Wen

Born 2000

Preview
0931 SINGER

Natalie Ong

Born 2000

Preview
1034 SPORT

Elias Allenspach

Born 2001

Preview
1114 SWIMMER

Kayla Sanchez

Born 2001

Preview
1259 SPORT

Amita Berthier

Born 2000

Preview