Update 28 Feb 2024: Singapore's total fertility rate falls to historic low of 0.97
While Singapore's total fertility rate has been on a decline for many years, this is the first time it has fallen below 1.0
For the first time ever, Singapore’s resident total fertility rate has dropped below 1.0. Preliminary estimates show that the total fertility rate fell to 0.97 in 2023, declining further from the previous record of 1.04 in 2022 and 1.12 in 2021.
“There are various reasons for Singapore’s low fertility. Some are temporal, for instance, couples that had their marriage plans disrupted by COVID-19, which may have in turn delayed their parenthood plans,” Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Indranee Rajah said in parliament on Wednesday (Feb 28). Others cited concerns about the financial costs of child-raising, pressures to be an excellent parent, or difficulties managing work and family commitments, she added.
The minister also pointed out that Singapore's low fertility rate reflects a global phenomenon where individual priorities and societal norms have shifted. Laying out the PMO’s plans, Ms Indranee said the government is looking at how paid parental leave can be increased. “We must recognise that this requires workplace adjustments, and that employers may face challenges in making arrangements to cover for employees’ extended absences,” she said.
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Rebounding from pandemic decline, Singapore population rises to record 5.92 million
Singapore’s total population hit a record 5.92 million, a 5 per cent increase from a year ago. The population rebounded from declines during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has since exceeded the 2019 population of 5.7 million.
"The total population of 5.92 million as at June 2023 is the highest recorded figure in Singapore’s history," said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The figures were published on Friday (Sep 29) in the annual Population in Brief report by the National Population and Talent Division, Prime Minister’s Office. Of the 5.92 million, there were 4.15 million residents and 1.77 million non-residents, which comprise the foreign workforce, dependants and international students.
Singapore citizens made up 3.61 million or 61 per cent of the total. This is a 1.6 per cent rise from last year. The permanent resident (PR) population increased by 3.7 per cent to 538,600 in June 2023. The report said that with the easing of travel restrictions related to COVID-19, more citizens and PRs living overseas returned to Singapore. This was the largest contributing factor to the increases in the citizen and PR populations.
Singapore birth rates hit record low in 2022, along with highest number of yearly deaths since 1960
Singapore’s birth rate hit a record low in 2022, a year when the country also had the highest number of deaths annually since 1960. Official figures released by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) showed a 7.9 per cent drop in the number of live births, from 38,672 in 2021 to 35,605 in 2022.
There were 26,891 deaths in 2022, a 10.7 per cent increase compared with the 24,292 recorded in 2021 in the Report on Registration of Births and Deaths. This was the highest number of total yearly deaths since 1960, reported Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao. The report also stated that women are progressively getting older before they start having children, with the median age of first-time mothers rising to 31.9 years in 2022, from 30.6 in 2018. There was minimal change in the median ages of mothers who gave birth to their second and subsequent children during the same period.
The number of first-time mothers who had university degrees rose to 63.6 per cent, compared with 58 per cent in 2017. Singapore’s declining birth rates and greying population are not new issues, with the Government implementing several measures to try and mitigate their impact.
Singapore's total fertility rate drops to historic low of 1.05
Singapore's total fertility rate has been falling for many years. The previous low was 1.1 in 2020
Singapore's resident total fertility rate hit an all-time low of 1.05 in 2022, dipping below the previous record of 1.1 in 2020 and 1.12 in 2021.
"This was partly due to the Tiger year in the Lunar calendar, which is generally associated with lower births among the Chinese," Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Indranee Rajah said in Parliament on Friday (Feb 24). In 2010, which was also a Tiger year, the total fertility rate was 1.15, lower than the years before and after.
Speaking during the PMO's Committee of Supply debate, Ms Indranee noted that the country's total fertility rate has been declining for many years, like other advanced societies. The total fertility rate refers to the average number of live-births each woman would have during her reproductive years. Singapore's figure has been below 1.2 since 2017.
Singapore’s birth rate is at a record low — but ‘throwing money’ at the problem won’t solve it
Almost two decades ago, Loh and her husband made a decision not to have children. Today, 17 years later, the two of them are convinced they made the right choice. “I may feel differently when I’m on my deathbed and have to die alone, but at the moment, the choice seems right to us,” said the 46-year-old who works in the tech industry. Loh, who did not want to give her full name, is not alone.
Singapore’s birth rate hit a record low in 2022, after years of decline. Live births last year plummeted by 7.9%, due to how expensive it is to live in Singapore, and the high cost of living continues to steer many away from expanding their family, analysts told. Birth rates increased slightly in 2022 to 1.12 from 1.1 the year before when people stayed home during Covid and had more children.
Still, fertility trends have shown women are also choosing to have children later in life, or not at all. Data from the Singapore Department of Statistics showed that women between the ages of 25 and 29 are now less likely to give birth than women between 35 to 39 years old.
Chart and table of the Singapore birth rate from 1950 to 2023. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.
- The current birth rate for Singapore in 2023 is 8.336 births per 1000 people, a 0.99% decline from 2022.
- The birth rate for Singapore in 2022 was 8.419 births per 1000 people, a 0.98% decline from 2021.
- The birth rate for Singapore in 2021 was 8.502 births per 1000 people, a 0.96% decline from 2020.
- The birth rate for Singapore in 2020 was 8.584 births per 1000 people, a 0.96% decline from 2019.
Singapore's population increases 3.4% after two years of decline
The number of citizen marriages rose 20.6 per cent, while the resident fertility rate recovered slightly from a historic low
Singapore's total population grew by 3.4 per cent to 5.64 million as of June this year, after two straight years of decline, according to an annual report by the National Population and Talent Division on Tuesday (Sep 27).
Despite the growth, the total population in Singapore remained slightly lower than the pre-COVID level of 5.7 million as of June 2019. The total population growth rate over the past five years, from 2017 to 2022, was slower compared with the preceding five-year period. Excluding the effects of COVID-19 from June 2019 to June 2021, the compound annual growth rate for the total population between June 2017 and June 2019 was 0.8 per cent. This was already lower than the compound annual growth rate of 1.1 per cent between June 2012 and June 2017, said the report.
Singapore's resident population, which comprises citizens and permanent residents, totalled 4.07 million, an increase from 3.99 million in June 2021. There were 1.56 million non-residents as of June. The increase in resident population was mainly due to the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions, as more residents who previously remained overseas continuously for 12 months or more returned to Singapore. The citizen population increased by 1.6 per cent from 3.5 million in June 2021 to 3.55 million in June this year.
Singapore's total fertility rate falls to historic low in 2020
Singapore's total fertility rate (TFR) fell to a historic low of 1.1 last year, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Indranee Rajah on Friday (Feb 26).
She said that the COVID-19 pandemic caused some Singaporeans to postpone their marriage, resulting in about 10 per cent fewer marriages last year than in 2019. Others have delayed their parenthood plans, she added. Ms Indranee, who oversees the National Population and Talent Division under the PMO, was speaking in Parliament during the Committee of Supply debate.
East Asian societies like South Korea and Taiwan, as well as Scandinavian countries known for achieving good fertility outcomes like Finland and Norway also experienced a drop in TFR, she noted.
Population size, structure and changes have important implications for production, investment and consumption activities as well as community development, social networks and kinship ties. A good understanding of demographic forces and emerging trends is useful for policy makers, planners,
businesses and the academia.
The Singapore Department of Statistics compiles, monitors and analyses Singapore’s population statistics and indicators in detail. A report on Population Trends that puts together different aspects of demographic statistics is released annually. Population Trends, 2022 is the eighteenth edition of the annual series.
The report comprises six chapters, namely, ‘Population’, 'Geographical Distribution' ‘Households and Housing’, ‘Family Formation and Dissolution’, ‘Fertility’ and ‘Mortality’. Key definitions and concepts are explained in text boxes in each chapter. Time series of commonly used indicators are included in the Statistical Appendices. Users can also explore the data time series in our e-service SingStat Table Builder at http://www.singstat.gov.sg/tablebuilder.
Our population size is affected by many factors, including birth rates, life expectancy, as well as global developments. The Government aims to achieve a careful balance between these factors to ensure a sustainable Singapore with a cohesive society and vibrant economy that improves Singaporeans’ lives.
The Government does not seek to achieve any particular population size. We monitor our population trends closely, and regularly review our population policies along with infrastructure and social development needs. An update on our population outlook was provided in Parliament in March 2018.
At that update, the Government said that given recent trends, Singapore’s total population is likely to be significantly below 6.9 million by 2030. This outlook remains valid today.
National Library Singapore 15 October 2020
Read more about the nation’s two-child policy here: http://bit.ly/NLS2childpolicy
Singapore 'Stop at Two' Policy
The two-child policy was a population control measure introduced by the Singapore government during the 1970s to encourage couples to have no more than two children. It was part of the second Five-Year National Family Planning Programme (1972–75) that was unveiled at the launch of the 1972 National Family Planning Campaign.
As part of the two-child policy, the government introduced a set of disincentives pertaining to childbirth fees, income tax, maternity leave and prioritisation of public housing allocation aimed at penalising couples who had more than two children from 1 August 1973 onwards. In addition, the government launched an array of family-planning events to garner public support for the policy.
Among the most notable activities were the publicity campaigns that carried messages such as “Small families, brighter future – Two is enough” and “The more you have, the less they get – Two is enough”.
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