Record number of marriages, drop in Singaporean births in 2022

SINGAPORE: There were a record number of citizen marriages last year, while the number of Singaporean births fell, said the annual Population in Brief report that was released on Friday (Sep 29).

In 2022, there were 24,767 citizen marriages, according to the report published by the National Population and Talent Division of the Prime Minister’s Office. 

This record high is 5.7 per cent more than the 23,433 citizen marriages in 2021, representing an increase for the second consecutive year since 2020.

The increase could have been contributed by couples resuming their marriage plans after disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, said the report.

However, the annual average number of citizen marriages in the last five years (22,700) remained lower than that of the preceding five years (23,600).

Brides and grooms are also getting older. The median age at first marriage for citizen grooms was 30.5 and 28.8 years for brides in 2022. This is up from 30.1 for grooms and 27.7 years for brides in 2012.

About a third or 33 per cent of citizen marriages were transnational, a slight rise from 29 per cent in 2021 but below pre-pandemic levels of 35 to 40 per cent (from 2012 to 2019). 

About one in six citizen marriages last year were inter-ethnic, a proportion that has remained largely stable in the last 10 years.

BIRTHS, AGEING POPULATION

Citizen births fell by 4 per cent (31,713 in 2021) to 30,429, with 2022 coinciding with the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese lunar calendar, which is associated with lower births among the Chinese.

In 2022, the resident total fertility rate (TFR) reached a historic low of 1.04. By race, the TFR for the Chinese population was 0.87, 1.01 for the Indian population and 1.83 for the Malays.

The annual average number of births in the past five years (31,800) was also lower than that in the preceding five years (32,700).

The median age of citizen mothers at first birth was 31.3 years in 2022, up slightly from 30.1 years in 2012.

The citizen population has also continued to age, with 19.1 per cent aged 65 and above in June 2023, compared with 11.7 per cent a decade ago.

The report said that the proportion of elderly citizens is rising, and at a faster pace than the last decade, as large cohorts of “baby boomers” reach 65 years old.

The median age of the citizen population as of June 2023 is now 43 years old, rising from 42.8 years in June 2022. This has gone up steadily over the last 10 years from 40 years in June 2013.

Currently, 61 per cent of citizens are aged 20 to 64 years, down from 64.9 per cent in 2013. And the proportion of citizens aged 65 and above has gone up from 11.7 per cent in 2013 to 19.1 per cent this year. By 2030, around one in four citizens (24.1 per cent) will be aged 65 and above.

The number of citizens aged 80 and above has also increased by about 70 per cent from 80,000 in 2013 to 136,000 in 2023. 

IMMIGRATION

The report added that the pace of immigration continues to be "measured and stable". Last year, 23,082 people were granted citizenship and 34,493 were granted permanent resident (PR).

The numbers were slightly higher than in 2019 as a number of approved applicants in 2020 and 2021 could not complete in-person processes for the grant of citizenship or PR due to travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The backlog thus contributed to the higher numbers granted.

About 5.5 per cent of the new Singapore citizens in 2022, or 1,280 of them, were children born overseas to Singaporean parents, the report said.