Finding AEDs
AED Coverage in Singapore: Which Neighbourhoods Are Best Prepared?
If you ask which Singapore neighbourhood is "best prepared" for cardiac arrest, the answer is not a vibes-based ranking of malls.
It is a count of registered public-access AEDs, where they sit, and whether you can reach them when you need them. Using AEDLocator's processed copy of the SCDF Public Access AEDs dataset (snapshot imported 27 July 2026), Singapore has 9,644 listed public AEDs. About 9,546 map to a URA planning area via postal sector. The rest are unmapped.
This guide aggregates those listings into simple area and venue-type stats. It is a directory analysis, not a clinical readiness score. A neighbourhood with many school AEDs that close at 5 p.m. is not the same as one with lift-lobby cabinets open all night.
How we counted (and what we did not invent)
Source: SCDF's Public Access AEDs open dataset, normalized for search on AEDLocator. Full caveats live on our methodology page.
Important limits before the leaderboard:
- Area assignment is approximate. We map the first two digits of the postal code to a URA planning area. Border estates and mixed sectors can land in the neighbouring hub.
- The source has no official "HDB / condo / mall" field. Venue-type stats below are text heuristics on
building_nameandlocation_description. They are useful patterns, not government labels. - Only registered public-access AEDs appear. Private devices inside locked offices, unregistered condo lobbies, or homes do not show up.
- Count is not access. Read opening hours and access before treating a pin as a night-time asset.
Which planning areas have the most public AEDs?
Among the 31 planning areas in our hub pages, absolute coverage is concentrated in large residential towns. Top 10 by AED count:
| Rank | Planning area | Public AEDs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tampines | 910 |
| 2 | Bedok | 863 |
| 3 | Yishun | 627 |
| 4 | Jurong West | 623 |
| 5 | Woodlands | 547 |
| 6 | Geylang | 482 |
| 7 | Queenstown | 465 |
| 8 | Hougang | 414 |
| 9 | Jurong East | 400 |
| 10 | Toa Payoh | 380 |
The median area in this set has about 295 AEDs. Downtown Core sits near that middle at 295. Smaller hubs at the bottom of the list include Outram (49), Rochor (41), Changi (26), and Western Water Catchment (12).
Raw leadership is not the same as "best per resident." Tampines and Bedok are large. They also show the Save-A-Life pattern: many cabinets in everyday residential common areas. Browse every area from the planning area index.
One postal-mapping caveat to keep in mind: our Pasir Ris hub shows only 42 AEDs because sector 50 maps there, and many of those listings sit in Loyang or Pulau Ubin industrial and recreational sites. Residential Pasir Ris postals starting with 51 are currently grouped under Tampines. Treat East-region area names as approximate hubs, then confirm the postal code and building on the listing.
What the coverage is made of: HDB-like, education, malls, transport
The national registry is not evenly spread across venue types. Using transparent text rules on the same snapshot:
HDB-like residential common areas dominate the directory
About 4,809 listings (50% of all AEDs) have no building name and a location description that mentions a lift lobby. That pattern matches typical HDB common-area installs far more often than named office towers or malls.
If we widen the rule slightly to "no building name, and a residential-style description such as lift lobby, void deck, or block," the HDB-like share rises to roughly half to just over half of the directory. Explicit use of the word "HDB" in the text is rare. The structure of the record is the signal.
In high-count towns, that residential share is even clearer:
- Sengkang: about 75% of listed AEDs match the no-building + lift-lobby pattern
- Hougang / Choa Chu Kang: about 71%
- Tampines / Yishun / Punggol / Jurong West: about 64% to 69%
That is why large HDB towns lead the absolute ranking. Public AED density in Singapore is heavily shaped by residential common-area deployment, not only by shopping centres. See also why every condo and HDB block needs an AED.
Schools and campuses are the next big named bucket
About 1,700 AEDs (roughly 18%) sit in buildings whose names include school, polytechnic, university, college, institute, or similar education terms. The densest named buildings in the whole directory are campuses: Temasek Polytechnic (45), Ngee Ann Polytechnic (40), Singapore Polytechnic (30), ITE College Central (21).
Education AEDs raise daytime preparedness. They are weaker night coverage. Many school hours look like weekday daytime windows rather than true 24/7 access.
Queenstown is a useful contrast: only about 22% of its AEDs match the HDB lift-lobby pattern, while education accounts for roughly 29%. High total count there does not mean the same residential-night profile as Sengkang or Tampines.
Malls and large retail are visible, but not the majority
Named mall and large-retail sites are easy to notice and still a minority of the national count.
Using building names that contain "mall," "shopping centre," or well-known retail complexes, we get on the order of 230 AEDs across roughly 80 named retail buildings. Examples from the snapshot include Jewel Changi Airport (20), PLQ Mall (14), ION Orchard (12), JEM (11), and VivoCity (8).
Malls punch above their count for bystander usefulness because staff know the cabinets and crowds are dense. They do not explain why Tampines or Bedok lead the area table. Those towns are led by residential installs. For where to look inside a mall, see where AEDs are commonly found.
MRT and transport nodes are sparse but strategic
About 120 buildings with "MRT" in the name account for roughly 160 AEDs. Transport AEDs matter because collapse can happen on platforms and concourses, and station staff can retrieve cabinets quickly. They are not a substitute for estate-level coverage at home, where most out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur.
Condo coverage looks thin in the public registry
Buildings whose names include condo, condominium, residences, or apartment account for only about 28 AEDs across roughly 18 named buildings in this snapshot.
That number is almost certainly an undercount of real private-estate readiness, and a fair reading of public registration. Many condo AEDs are never submitted to the national public-access dataset, sit behind guarded access, or use building names that do not contain those keywords. Do not conclude that condos "do not need" AEDs from this figure. Conclude that public findability is weak. MCSTs weighing an install should read our cost-benefit view for condo MCSTs.
24/7 listings change what "prepared" means
Of 9,644 AEDs in the snapshot:
- 6,572 are marked 24/7 in the source hours (about 68%)
- 3,065 have limited hours
- 7 have unknown hours
In the top residential towns, 24/7 shares are typically in the 60% to 77% range. Hougang sits near the high end at about 77%. Queenstown is lower at about 59%, consistent with a larger school and limited-hours mix.
A neighbourhood can look well stocked on a map and still leave you without a reachable cabinet at 1 a.m. Always read the hours on the listing.
So which neighbourhoods are best prepared?
If "best prepared" means the most registered public AEDs today, the leaders are Tampines, Bedok, Yishun, Jurong West, and Woodlands.
If it means residential night-time reachability, lean toward towns where a large share of listings look like HDB lift-lobby cabinets with 24/7 hours: Sengkang, Hougang, Choa Chu Kang, Tampines, Yishun, Punggol, and similar high HDB-like shares.
If it means daytime crowd coverage, add education-heavy and mall-heavy pockets: polytechnic campuses, Jewel and major Orchard or HarbourFront retail nodes, and CBD convention venues.
If it means your own block, ignore the national leaderboard. Search your postal code on AEDLocator, confirm the floor text and hours, then walk the route once. Our guide to checking whether home, office, or condo has an AED nearby covers that workflow.
What these stats should change for residents and MCSTs
- Do not assume mall coverage equals estate coverage. Most of the directory is residential-pattern installs and campuses, not shopping centres.
- High-count towns still have gaps. A town with 600 AEDs can leave your block without one. Check the nearest listing, not the area total.
- Condo silence in the public data is a registration and access problem. If your MCST has a device, register it and make retrieval possible.
- School AEDs help students and staff by day. Neighbours should keep a second option for nights and holidays.
- In a real collapse, call 995 first. Use myResponder, start CPR, and send someone for the nearest reachable AED.
Coverage maps are for planning. Action in the first minutes is what changes outcomes. For the emergency sequence, see what happens when you call 995.
FAQ: AED coverage by neighbourhood in Singapore
Which Singapore area has the most public AEDs?
In AEDLocator's 27 July 2026 snapshot of SCDF open data, Tampines leads with 910 public AEDs, followed by Bedok with 863.
Are most public AEDs in malls?
No. Mall and large-retail named sites account for only a few hundred listings. About half of the directory matches an HDB-like pattern: no building name and a lift-lobby location description.
Why does my condo not show up even if there is an AED?
Many private residential AEDs are not in the public-access registry, or the building name does not look like a "condo" keyword. Public findability and on-site access are separate problems.
Is a high area count enough for night emergencies?
Not by itself. Check whether the nearest devices are 24/7 and reachable without locked gates. About 68% of listed AEDs in this snapshot are marked 24/7, but that share varies by area and venue type.
How current are these numbers?
They reflect AEDLocator's processed SCDF snapshot imported on 27 July 2026 (9,644 AEDs). Counts change as the national registry updates. Recheck AEDLocator or the source dataset before citing a figure as live.