Singapore stands out as an exception to the notion that being part of a country’s majority ethnicity and religion is closely associated with national belonging. This is revealed by the just-released results of a survey by Pew Research Centre, an organisation whose work informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends that are shaping the world.

The survey, which involved more than 13,000 people across Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, was conducted from June to September 2022. The Pew report notes that Singapore differs from the other countries surveyed in that it has no majority religion, and thus that there is no single religion which is clearly associated with Singapore’s national identity. (Buddhists make up 31 per cent of the population, constituting a plurality but not a majority.)