Interethnic Marriage as an Index of Assimilation: The Case of Singapore

Registration data on intergroup marriages in Singapore for 1962–69 are analyzed to study assimilation patterns. The need for standardized data which are not affected by group size and sex ratios is stressed and a probability index of intermarriages between groups is generated. The Chinese are the most isolated of groups while the Indians and Malays, among the major groups, are the closest on the basis of this index. Assortative mating rather than random intermarriage is occurring and assimilation patterns appear to be of a stratified rather than a general-mixture or melting-pot character. No evidence of change in these patterns was observed during the 1960s. The advantage of using standardized data for the analysis of intermarriages between different groups is emphasized.