SINGAPORE, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- Singapore’s total fertility rate (TFR) has decreased dramatically to a new low of 0.87 in 2025 from 1.24 a decade ago, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.
He said a TFR of 0.87 means every 100 residents today is projected to only have 44 children and 19 grandchildren for the third generation.
"Last year, we welcomed 27,500 resident babies. This is in fact the lowest birth number ever in our recorded history.
"Marriage rates have come down and those who are married have fewer children or no children," he said, during the Committee of Supply 2026 debate in Parliament on Thursday.
In the meantime, Gan also noted that the republic's population is ageing faster than ever, with the baby boomers generation now in their 60s and beyond.
"Last year, one in five citizens was aged 65 and above, compared to one in eight in 2015. This is an existential challenge," he added.
According to Gan, Singapore’s population growth rate has slowed over the decade despite immigration, falling from an average of 0.9 per cent per annum over five years from 2015 to 2020, to 0.8 per cent per annum from 2020 to 2025.
In 2025, the population growth rate only grew at 0.7 per cent, he added.
"Fewer births today means fewer young people over the next two to three decades. If no new measures are taken, our citizen population will start to shrink by the early part of 2040s," Gan noted.
-- BERNAMA
