Clementi ( , ) is a planning area and residential town located at the easternmost fringe of the West Region of Singapore. The town borders Bukit Batok to the north, Bukit Timah to the northeast, Queenstown to the east and Jurong East to the west.

Etymology

The planning area of Clementi derives its name from Clementi Road, the main traffic route that still runs into the district to this day. It was once known as Reformatory Road as there was a boys' home situated along the road. In 1947, the Singapore Rural Board discussed renaming the road. Their original intention was to name it after Sir Hugh Clifford, but it was eventually named as Clementi Road. It is generally suggested that the road was named after Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, who was the first British High Commissioner in the Straits Settlements. However, it is also possible that the road was named after Sir Cecil Clementi, another former Governor of the Straits Settlements (1930–33) who initiated the construction of Kallang Airport.

History The present area occupying Clementi Avenue 1 used to be known as 'Sussex Estate', named after the historic county of Sussex in England. The road running inside Sussex Estate was called Goodwood Road. It was developed in the mid-1950s to house the families of British senior non-commissioned officers. When Clementi underwent a major transformation beginning in 1975, Sussex Estate was the only pre-development feature that was retained. It was demolished in 1997.

Most of the area currently occupied by Clementi New Town today was once a military installation called 'Colombo Camp'. It is not known when the camp came into existence, however what is known is that the Singapore Guard Regiment, formed in 1948, stationed its troops there. When the regiment disbanded in November 1971, the camp was left to stand for another four more years before it was demolished in 1975.

Clementi New Town was subsequently developed between 1975 and 1979 on the plot of land that was once occupied by the camp. Planned as a self-sufficient residential town with a range of facilities and services, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) began clearing the area in 1974 and affected villagers were resettled.

An iconic landmark at Clementi is the steel truss railway bridge crossing Sungei Ulu Pandan. It was once part of the Jurong KTMB Railway Line which was constructed to facilitate the transportation of manufactured products from Jurong to Malaysia, and raw materials from Malaysia to the industrial estate at Jurong. Construction of the railway began in 1963, and the first train ran in 1966. The Jurong section of the railway remained in use for the next four decades until its closure in the early 1990s. Today, the disused track continues to attract much interest from the public, especially people with a taste for history, nature and photography.

Geography Clementi's arterial road, Clementi Road, runs for some 5 kilometres, from the vicinity around Bukit Timah, at Jalan Anak Bukit, to the West Coast Highway, but the geographical entity of Clementi is generally regarded as the area dominated by HDB flats around Commonwealth Avenue West and the Clementi MRT station. Besides Clementi Road, the two other arterial roads that serve the new town are the Ayer Rajah Expressway and the West Coast Highway.

The primary residential district in Clementi is Clementi New Town and forms a large bulk of its residents and identity. The area also consists of many landed properties, especially in the West of the area.

The boundaries of Clementi New Town are Sunset Way Estate to the North, Clementi Road to the East, West Coast Highway to the South, and Clementi Avenue 6 to the West.

Neighbourhoods There are four constituencies in the town, and seven neighbourhoods (N1 to N7) within the Clementi vicinity.citypost.sg - HDB Statistics for Clementi Estate Most neighbourhoods are centered around or aligned with their respective neighbourhood hubs, where the majority of commercial activities take place, except for Clementi Town Centre.

Subzones There are nine subzones in the planning area; Clementi Central, Clementi North, Clementi West, Clementi Woods, Faber, Pandan, Sunset Way, Toh Tuck and West Coast.

Demographics

Population history

Age profile The data below is from the population report published by the Singapore Department of Statistics as of June 2026.

Age group (years) Males Females Totalpopulation % of totalpopulation 0–4 1,940 1,840 3,780 3.62 5–9 2,620 2,460 5,080 4.87 10–14 2,650 2,700 5,350 5.13 15–19 2,680 2,660 5,340 5.12 20–24 2,370 2,420 4,790 4.59 25–29 2,600 2,640 5,240 5.02 30–34 3,050 3,460 6,510 6.24 35–39 3,760 4,330 8,090 7.75 40–44 3,790 4,380 8,170 7.83 45–49 3,900 4,370 8,270 7.93 50–54 3,790 4,170 7,960 7.63 55–59 3,240 3,430 6,670 6.39 60–64 3,200 3,300 6,500 6.23 65–69 2,710 3,140 5,850 5.61 70–74 2,490 3,510 6,000 5.75 75–79 2,470 3,090 5,560 5.33 80–84 1,120 1,470 2,590 2.48 85–89 710 1,050 1,760 1.69 90+ 270 580 850 0.81 Age group (years) Males Females Totalpopulation % of totalpopulation 0–14 7,210 7,000 14,210 13.6 15–64 32,380 35,160 67,540 64.7 65+ 9,770 12,840 22,610 21.7

The population distribution of Clementi in 2026 demonstrates an ageing population structure. There is a higher population concentration among middle-aged groups, with males peaking at the 45-49 age range (3.74%) and females peaking at the 40-44 age range (4.20%).

Notably, Clementi has a relatively high proportion of young and old dependents. The proportion of children aged 0 to 14 years old, 13.62%, is slightly higher than the national average of 13.34%. Similarly, the proportion of elderly above 65 years old, 21.67%, is higher than the national average of 19.50%. This indicates a mixture of young families and elderly residents in Clementi.

Household + Resident population by dwelling type in Clementi (2000−2026)YearHDB flatsCondominiums andother apartmentsLanded propertiesPercentagePercentagePercentage 2000 77,970 5,470 6,090 2005 71,840 6,900 5,820 2010 73,090 11,250 5,930 2015 70,420 14,030 5,800 2020 67,410 17,640 5,730 2025 70,400 26,760 5,580 2026 69,730 27,540 5,560 As of 2026, the proportion of residents in Clementi residing in HDB flats (66.8%) is lower than the national proportion of HDB dwellers (75.5%), reflecting a greater prevalence of private property as compared to the national average.

Among the population, 28,430 residents, or 27.2% of the population, live in 4-Room Flats, making it the most common type of dwelling. This is closely followed by residents residing in condominiums and other apartments (27,540 residents, 26.4%).

As of 2025, the average household size in Clementi is approximately 3.00. Among the 39,500 households in Clementi, the most common household size is two persons, representing 24.8% of total households. This is followed by a household size of three persons, representing 20.8% of all households.

Clementi has a home ownership rate of 91.6% as of 2025. This is slightly higher than the national home ownership rate of 91.2%.

Ethnicity + Ethnic groups in Clementi (2000−2025)YearChineseMalays Indians OthersPercentagePercentagePercentagePercentage 2000 69,563 13,039 7,101 1,275 2010 69,293 10,732 8,155 3,694 2015 70,700 9,950 7,600 3,390 2020 73,630 8,270 6,970 3,120 2025 85,310 7,990 7,390 3,560 As of 2025, Clementi has a lower level of ethnic diversity as compared to the national average. This is due to the considerably larger proportion of Chinese residents (81.8%) and a smaller proportion of Malay residents (7.7%) as compared to the national average of 73.9% and 13.5% respectively.

Religion

In 2025, most residents in Clementi had no religion (33,500 residents, 36.5%). The second most common religion is Buddhism, with 23,800 practising residents (25.9% of the population), followed by Christianity, with 17,700 (19.3%) practising residents, including 6,700 Catholics (12.0%). Islam is practised by 8,800 residents (9.6%). Other religious affiliations include Taoism (4,900 residents, 9.7%), Hinduism (3,100 residents, 3.4%).

Compared to the national average of 23.9%, there is a substantially higher proportion of irreligious residents in Clementi.

Education As of 2025, 98.4% of the population aged above 15 is literate, similar to the national average of 98.6%. 75.4% of residents are literate in two languages, with the most common language pair being English and Chinese (63.1%). Additionally, 5.2% of Clementi residents are literate in three or more languages.

+ Highest qualification attained of non-student resident population aged 15 years and over (2025 est.) Qualification Percentage Singapore average Below secondary Secondary Post-secondary (non-tertiary) Polytechnic diploma Professional qualification and other diploma University

As of 2025, the proportion of residents in Clementi with a university qualification (27.6%) is considerably higher than the national average.

Language

Of the 2,500 Indian language speakers in Clementi, majority speak Tamil (2,100 residents), representing 84% of all Indian language speakers in 2025.

Employment and income According to the 2025 General Household Survey, 59,100 of residents aged 15 years and over in Clementi are employed, out of the 61,200 in the labour force. This equates to an employment rate of 96.6%, similar to the national employment rate of 96.7%, ranking Clementi with the 5th lowest employment rate among all subzones in Singapore. The remaining 28,435 residents aged above 15 in Clementi (35.9%) are outside the labour force.

+ Gross monthly employment income of employed residents aged 15 years and over (2025 est.) Employmentincome Percentage Singaporeaverage Below S$1,000 S$1,000–S$1,999 S$2,000–S$2,999 S$3,000–S$3,999 S$4,000–S$4,999 S$5,000–S$5,999 S$6,000–S$6,999 S$7,000–S$7,999 S$8,000–S$8,999 S$9,000–S$9,999 S$10,000–S$10,999 S$11,000–S$11,999 S$12,000–S$14,999 S$15,000–S$19,999 S$20,000 and over

+ Monthly household employment income (2025 est.) Householdemployment income Percentage Singaporeaverage No employed person Below S$1,000 S$1,000–S$1,999 S$2,000–S$2,999 S$3,000–S$3,999 S$4,000–S$4,999 S$5,000–S$5,999 S$6,000–S$6,999 S$7,000–S$7,999 S$8,000–S$8,999 S$9,000–S$9,999 S$10,000–S$10,999 S$11,000–S$11,999 S$12,000–S$12,999 S$13,000–S$13,999 S$14,000–S$14,999 S$15,000–S$17,499 S$17,500–S$19,999 S$20,000–S$24,999 S$25,000–S$29,999 S$30,000–S$34,999 S$35,000 and over

Politics Clementi was last an independent political constituency in the 1984 general election. As of the 2025 Singaporean general election, Clementi was under the jurisdiction of three Group representation constituencies: a majority of Clementi (alongside the Faber areas) falls under the namesake division, which become a part of the Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, the West Coast and Pandan areas belongs to the West Coast-Jurong West GRC, and northern Clementi and Toh Tuck areas belongs to the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

Currently, West Coast-Jurong West Town Council office is still situated at the Clementi Mall, but it is now meant for residents in Dover, Pandan Gardens, Teban Gardens and West Coast. The namesake division was also part of the West Coast GRC until it was redistricted to Jurong GRC in 2015. Both constituencies has since been renamed in 2025.

Amenities The Commonwealth Cinema on the south side of Clementi MRT station was demolished in 2008 and rebuilt into a four-storey shopping mall, previously named 'CityVibe', but later renamed to 'Grantal Mall'. The former Eng Wah's Empress Entertainment Centre Cineplex was also rebuilt and reopened as '321 Clementi' in March 2015.

Further from the town centre, a shopping complex, West Coast Plaza, serves the residents along West Coast Road.

The Singapore Police 'D' Divisional Headquarters is located at Clementi Avenue 5, while the Clementi Neighbourhood Police Post is situated at Clementi Avenue 3. Clementi Fire Station is located off Commonwealth Avenue West.