Resident Households

A household refers to (i) a group of two or more people living together in the same house and sharing common food or other essential arrangements for living; or (ii) a person living alone or a person living with others but having his/her own food or other essential arrangements for living. Although persons may be living in the same house, they may not be members of the same household. For example, a family renting out a room to a tenant – if the tenant does not share or have meals with the family, the tenant belongs to a separate household.

Floor Area of Residence

Floor area of residence refers to the total floor area of the residential dwelling unit of which the residents/households are living in and may also include areas such as planter box and aircon ledge.

Household

A household refers to:

1. a group of two or more persons living together in the same house and sharing common food or other essential arrangements for living; or
2. a person living alone or a person living with others but having his own food or other essential arrangements for living.

Although persons may be living in the same house, they may not be members of the same household.

Household Living Arrangement

Household living arrangement refers to the classification of a household based on the composition of members within the household.

Households are classified into:

• Married Couple-Based households with children: Refers to households with at least one married couple living with their child(ren), regardless of age.
• Married Couple-Based households without children: Refers to households with at least one married couple and none are living with their child(ren). This includes couples with child(ren) who have moved out.
• Lone-Parent households: Refers to households with no married couple and at least one never-married/ widowed/ divorced/ separated person who is living with his/ her child(ren). The child(ren) must be aged below 16 years or are never-married to be considered.
• One-Person households: Refers to one-person households. Examples include single persons living alone, or ever-married persons who are living alone as their child(ren) have moved out.
• Others: Refers to all other households that do not fall under any of the above household living arrangement categories. Examples include a divorced person living with his/her widowed parent, elderly living only with domestic worker, only siblings living together without parents, or friends living together.

Household Reference Person

The household reference person is as reported by the surveyed households and usually refers to the oldest member, the main income earner, the owner-occupier of the house, the person who manages the affairs of the household, or the person who supplied the information pertaining to other members. Prior to 2020, survey respondents were asked to identify the 'head of household'. The identified person is used as the reference person to determine relationships between household members. Since 2020, the term 'head of household' has been replaced with 'household reference person'.

Household Size

Refers to the total number of members in the household, including domestic workers.

Number of Working/Employed Persons in Household

The number of working/employed persons in the household includes members of the same household who were working/employed during the survey reference period. Domestic workers in the household are excluded.

Resident Employed Household

Refers to a household where the household reference person is a Singapore citizen or permanent resident and with at least one employed person.

Resident Household

Refers to a household where the household reference person is a Singapore citizen or permanent resident.

Tenancy

Refers to the tenure status of the household with respect to the dwelling in which the household members live.

• Owner-Occupied: Refers to a household where the household reference person and/or any other member(s) in the household owns the dwelling unit. This includes those which are fully paid-up as well as those with outstanding housing loans.
• Rented: Refers to a household where the household reference person and/or any other member(s) in the household rents whole or part of the dwelling unit.
• Others: Refer to a household where the household reference person and/or any other member(s) in the household occupies whole or part of the dwelling unit without charge (provided free by other persons (e.g., employers, relatives, friends, or any other persons)).

Type of Dwelling

A dwelling refers to a building or part of a building used or intended to be used by one or more persons as living quarters. Each dwelling has its own separate entrance with direct access to a public road or pathway. A dwelling may be a residential building by itself, or a unit in a residential building, or part of a non-residential building such as a shop or factory with space used as living quarters. Dwellings are broadly classified into the three categories: Housing and Development Board (HDB) properties, condominiums and other apartments, and landed properties. For data from 2012, the Singapore Standard Classification of Type of Dwelling (Jan 2012) is used to classify the type of dwelling.

Find out more on Singapore Standard Classification of Household Tenure Status