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SINGAPORE: 39,490 babies were born in Singapore last year, but not all were born of Singaporean parents.
In fact, only 59 per cent of them have both a Singaporean mother and a Singaporean father. But if births where at one parent is a foreigner were included, then the figure goes up to 82 per cent.
Perhaps what is of great significance is that records of Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) show that Singapore men fathered 75 per cent of all babies born here, while Singapore women account for just 65 per cent.
Climbing the career ladder is one reason sociologists give for the low fertility rate among Singapore women, particularly among those with degrees.
Associate Professor Angelique Chan, assistant head of Department of Sociology at the National University of Singapore, said: "A woman puts a lot of effort, time, overtime, into her work in her early 20s, mid-late 20s, then she gets to be about 30 years old and then she is thinking about marriage but it's hard for her to find someone (at that age). The older you get, the more entrenched you get in your lifestyle....and it gets harder to adapt to another person."
If Singapore men are fathering more babies than Singapore women are giving birth to, then who is delivering the goods?
6,071 babies were born to Singapore fathers whose wives are Malaysians, Indonesians, Chinese nationals, or are from other countries in the region.
Some women from further afield have also been increasing Singapore's birth rate.
Singapore's Total Fertility Rate - which measures the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime - currently stands at 1.29.
Among the Malay and Indian communities, their birth rates have fallen steadily from year 2000 to 2006.
While the birth rate among the Chinese community has crept up very slightly, it still remains the lowest of all the three races.
- CNA/ir
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