OBJECTIVES: With a rapidly ageing population, dementia has become a major public health problem worldwide. Around 28,000 Singaporeans aged 60 and above have dementia, and the number is projected to hit 80,000 by 2030, imposing a potentially significant economic burden on individuals and society which has yet to be quantified. Therefore we sought to assess the annual economic burden of dementia in Singapore and to identify the main cost components. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study approved by the SingHealth Centralised Institutional Review Board, consecutive patients seen at the dementia clinic of National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) between August 2013 and December 2014 were recruited. Singapore residents meeting the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke criteria for the diagnosis of dementia with follow-up of at least 6 months at NNI were included. Caregivers of eligible patients were interviewed with a financial burden questionnaire to collect direct and indirect costs related to dementia over the past 12 months from a societal perspective.        RESULTS: Of 60 patients aged 54-91 years (median: 74) recruited, 90% were Chinese, 42% were men, and 38% had Young Onset Dementia (YOD) (defined as dementia onset before age 65). Annual total cost of dementia was SGD28341 per patient (i.e. $793 million for the country), with direct cost constituting 23% and indirect cost constituting 77%. The main cost components for direct medical cost, direct non-medical cost, and indirect cost were pharmacotherapy (52%), home care (45%), and productivity loss (72%), respectively. As expected, the indirect cost of YOD patients was significantly higher than non-YOD patients. CONCLUSIONS: Dementia imposes a considerable economic burden in Singapore. As productivity loss accounts for a large share of the burden especially in YOD group, programs to improve early diagnosis, raise public awareness about the disease, reduce stigma and provide better support to caregivers are urgently needed.