sentences:  However, a lower rate of natural growth in population and the need for low-skill labour resulted in a deliberate shift in policy by the Singapore government to allow more foreigners to live and work in the country, and net migration increased in the 1980-1990 period to nearly 200,000.By the decade of 1990-2000, the net migrant number of over 600,000 had surpassed the natural growth of the population, and accounted for nearly two-third of the population increase.The same high level of immigration is also seen in the next decade with 664,083 net migration recorded.