The article says "The total population, which includes foreigners who live, work and study in Singapore but are not permanent residents, dropped by 4.1% to 5.45

The article says "The total population, which includes foreigners who live, work and study in Singapore but are not permanent residents, dropped by 4.1% to 5.45 million people. hat was largely as a result of a 10.7% decrease in its non-resident population." There are certainly many high-skilled professional workers in that cohort, including the few Singapore residents I know who left, but it's certainly not all.