The table illustrates the floor area of various flat types, their average household size, and the living space available per person in Singapore during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
Overall, while the size of flats generally increased over the decades, the average living space per individual gradually decreased. This trend is mainly attributed to the rise in household size, which reduced the per capita allocation of space despite larger apartments.
In the 1980s, the floor area of flats ranged from 69 sq m for a 3-room unit to 145 sq m for an executive flat. The average household size was relatively large at 4.6 people, meaning living space per person varied between 15 sq m and 32 sq m. By the 1990s, flat sizes had expanded, with executive apartments reaching 150 sq m. However, household size fell slightly to 3.9, resulting in modest gains in living space per individual, ranging from 19 sq m in a 3-room flat to 39 sq m in an executive flat.
By the 2000s, the floor areas of flats either stagnated or decreased. For example, 5-room flats shrank from 140 sq m in the 1990s to 110 sq m. Furthermore, the average household size dropped further to 3.4 persons. Consequently, living space per person remained stable or even declined for some flat types, with figures such as 20 sq m for 3-room units and 32 sq m for 5-room flats.