Singapore wants more babies. Will a radical reset reverse the fertility crunch?

SINGAPORE – The past year of raising his daughter, who turned one in December 2025, has been “deeply rewarding” for 31-year-old Mr Chen. Seeing her grow and laugh has been priceless, he said.

Still, he and his wife, a nurse, have decided that one child is enough.

Despite expanded parental leave, the dual-income couple say the time and commitment required to raise a child well, together with limited childcare leave, make the prospect of a second daunting.

They had initially hoped for two children, so the siblings could keep each other company.

Since their daughter was born, Mr Chen and his wife, who used to host dinner parties with friends almost weekly, have had less time for social events.

“After seeing the time and effort it takes to properly bring my daughter up with love and care, I don’t think I can in good conscience have another,” said Mr Chen, who declined to give his full name.

Wanting to be a present parent, the business consultant fears that adding a second child to the mix in Singapore’s fast-paced work culture will make it impossible to give both children the attention they deserve.

“Employers do not benefit from giving their employees more time with their families,” he said. “They would profit more from someone who can dedicate more time to the job, not someone rushing off to fetch their child from school or leaving to take a kid to the clinic.”

Several couples, like Mr Chen and his wife, interviewed for this story declined to give their full names, saying they feared being judged for preferring to have fewer children – or none at all.

Their views reflect a broader shift in attitudes here towards parenthood, as Singapore’s preliminary resident total fertility rate (TFR) fell to a historic low of 0.87 in 2025, down from 0.97 in 2024.

This refers to the average number of babies each woman would have during her reproductive years.

Preliminary figures show there were about 27,500 resident births in 2025 – the lowest number in Singapore’s records and about 11 per cent fewer than the 30,808 births in 2024.

A resident birth refers to a child born to at least one parent who is a Singaporean or permanent resident.

Without new measures, Singapore’s citizen population may start to shrink by the early 2040s, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, stressing that supporting Singaporeans in starting families is a “top priority”.

Speaking in Parliament on Feb 26, he illustrated what it means for the country if the TFR remains at 0.87. For every 100 residents today, they will have just 44 children, and a mere 19 grandchildren.

“Over time, it will be practically impossible to reverse the trend because we will have fewer and fewer women who can bear children,” he added.

Associate Professor Intan Azura Mokhtar, assistant provost at the Singapore Institute of Technology, said a TFR of 0.87 means that a couple will have fewer than one child in their lifetime. A TFR of 2.1 is needed for a population to just replace itself.

In the long run, this could translate into a much heavier ageing burden. For every economically active adult, there would be 2.4 seniors to support.

Such a demographic shift would require more healthcare and social services to support an aged population, along with higher government spending and a heavier financial burden on working-age adults, she said.

“This may lead to working adults deciding not to get married or settle down to start a family, as the direct costs may be too high to bear. It may mean we end up in a vicious circle, down a slippery slope,” said the former MP.

Singapore Management University law don and former Nominated MP Eugene Tan said a dwindling labour force could result in a less vibrant economy, with gaps not just in numbers but also the quality of workers.

“We probably have to get used to a smaller labour force but one of diverse capabilities,” he said, adding that advanced technologies like artificial intelligence can help to multiply impact.

Singapore has grappled with shifting fertility patterns for decades.

In the 1970s, the Government’s “Stop at 2” campaign successfully encouraged families to limit themselves to two children.

Today, policymakers face the opposite challenge: persuading couples to have more, if any.

The pressures come as marriage rates have also fallen. Singapore recorded 24,687 marriages in 2025, a 6.2 per cent fall from 2024. It marked the third consecutive annual decline and the lowest number since 2020, when Covid-19 restrictions upended many wedding plans.

Over the years, policymakers have tried to lift fertility through measures that include baby bonuses, childcare subsidies and housing priority schemes for larger families.

But these have had limited impact on reversing long-term trends, with the TFR still far below the replacement level of 2.1.

The lower fertility rates reflect shifts in the personal and professional priorities of millennials and Gen Zs, with higher education levels contributing to delayed parenthood and greater career trade-offs – especially for women – leading some to rethink if and when to have children.

Prof Intan said many couples marry later as they want to focus on careers or travelling. Those who do start families often stop at one child.

Ms Haslinda Hassan, 37, said she has no intention of having children, citing the high cost of living in Singapore as a major factor.

“I am happy where I am,” said the nurse, who is single. “Maybe I’m a bit selfish; I just want time to myself. I don’t need kids to feel complete.”

Beyond personal choices, practical considerations also shape family decisions.

Cost-of-living concerns and the desire to provide the best opportunities for children weigh heavily on couples. Access to public housing, convenient transport, workplace flexibility and worries about the future can make parenthood feel daunting, even with financial support.

Mr Ben Wong said he feels pressure to match what other parents provide.

“You hear your colleagues taking leave to help their kids with PSLE, or sending them for enrichment classes like dance. I would feel the need to give my children the same,” said the 38-year-old, who works in aviation leasing.

Mr Wong said he and his wife still hope to have children soon, but want to be prepared given the costs and childcare arrangements involved.

A more radical ‘reset’ needed?

The latest figures give the matter of raising Singapore’s TFR a new urgency, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah in Parliament on Feb 26.

Ms Indranee, who oversees the marriage and parenthood portfolio, will chair a new work group to intensify efforts to tackle the issue.

She said that the societywide reset, which is needed if Singapore is to change its trajectory, will focus on three aspects: how marriage and parenthood are viewed and supported, how workplaces can better align work and family, and how everyone has a role to play.

At the same time, the Republic will need a “carefully managed immigration flow to augment our low birth rate”, said DPM Gan.

SMU’s Associate Professor Tan said: “Singapore is and will remain an immigrant society for quite some time to come.

“It has started out as an economic need for immigrants but has evolved to that of an existential crisis, given that we have to all intents and purposes fallen off the demographic cliff.”

Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Social Lab adjunct principal research fellow and academic adviser Tan Ern Ser said the issue is more political than economic.

He said the political priority is to sustain a strong Singaporean core, while economically, the country must continue trying to raise birth rates and bring in people who can contribute to its economy and demographics.

Dr Tan believes the work group’s outcome will likely involve enhancements to existing incentives rather than radical changes.

Its recommendations will need to be “generous to a point” yet sustainable, he said.

Framing the issue primarily in economic terms risks overlooking the broader social, cultural and lifestyle factors that shape people’s willingness to start families, said independent political observer Felix Tan.

At the same time, Singapore remains a relatively conservative and pragmatic society, where expectations about the sanctity of marriage and traditional parenthood still shape policy, he said.

“This creates an inherent constraint: While meaningful solutions may require more imaginative or unconventional approaches, policymakers are likely to avoid proposals that risk unsettling a socially conservative electorate,” he added.

Dr Melvin Tay, research fellow at IPS Social Lab, said that both the PAP and WP have proposed notable ideas, from workplace flexibility and stronger employment protections to expanded caregiving support, or bolder housing, tax and cost offsets.

He said it is worth examining a few “sacred cows”. One is the push towards a more car-lite, public transport-dependent lifestyle – while it works well for many, it is not as feasible for parents with young children, especially those also caring for aged parents.

Another is Singapore’s approach to land and housing. While smaller spaces may be efficient in a land-scarce city, it can make the notion of family life more difficult to realise.

“If housing mechanisms are further enhanced to prioritise those with the intent to start a family and have children, this will go a meaningful way to reducing barriers to marriage and parenthood,” said Dr Tay.

Singapore’s workplace culture, where long hours and after-hours responsiveness remain an unspoken norm in many sectors, also raises the opportunity cost of parenthood, he added.

Dr Tay said the Government should consider co-funding backfill arrangements such as temporary staff, so that colleagues are not overloaded when someone is on caregiving leave. This could reduce resentment and make parental leave more routine.

“We should also look at protected personal time as a norm, rather than a perk available only to those fortunate enough to be working for more enlightened employers,” he said.

One option is a clearer regulatory approach, such as legislating basic right-to-disconnect protections where feasible. Guidelines could also set expectations for after-hours messaging and meetings, so employees are not quietly penalised for switching off, he added.

Children require significant time and monetary investment, so parents may respond more to incentives related to big-ticket items, such as preferential access to larger homes or cars for families with more children, said IPS senior research fellow Tan Poh Lin.

Prof Intan said the wider community can also help, with neighbours chipping in for childminding or babysitting to ease some pressure on working parents.

Such approaches are being tested. A childminding pilot for infants was launched by the Early Childhood Development Agency in 2024, while the Ministry of Manpower expanded its Household Services Scheme in March 2023 to allow operators to provide babysitting, childminding and elder-minding services in residential premises.

Elsewhere, countries have experimented with a mix of financial incentives and family support to boost fertility rates.

In South Korea, expanded parental leave, cash grants and housing incentives have nudged fertility up slightly after years of decline, though it is still one of the world’s lowest. Its TFR sank to a record low of 0.72 in 2023, but edged upwards to 0.75 in 2024 and 0.8 in 2025. 

Prof Intan cautioned, though, that what has worked in one society may not easily translate to another because context, culture and norms differ.

IPS’ Dr Tan Poh Lin said few national programmes can boast of success, with fertility rates staying below replacement across the developed world.

“Factors that have been identified as helpful include higher social security, lower social inequality, support for women’s workforce participation and strong respect for family norms,” she added.

Dr Tan Ern Ser, who has two sons and three granddaughters, said that while “more time, more money” policies are necessary, they are not sufficient. He suggested that the intrinsic rewards of having children outweigh the time, money and effort in raising them.

“Maybe what is needful is to emphasise the joy of being able to give love and receive love from one’s own flesh and blood.”

For Nanyang Technological University student Myori Hoo, the prospect of marrying and starting a family outweighs her worries about raising children.

“I grew up seeing my parents’ loving relationship, and I thought I would want a relationship like this too,” said the 20-year-old, who is studying traditional Chinese medicine and hopes to have children after finding career stability.

“I’m afraid of pregnancy and childbirth, and I imagine it will be financially difficult to raise a child, but I’ve grown up with a fondness for children from a young age.”

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that for every economically active adult, there would be 2.3 instead of 2.4 seniors to support. This has been corrected.