Singapore's fertility rate drops to historic low of 0.87 as country faces 'existential challenge': DPM Gan

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s total fertility rate dropped significantly to a new low of 0.87 in 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said in parliament on Thursday (Feb 26).

The country's fertility rate fell below 1.0 for the first time in 2023 to 0.97, and the figure remained the same in 2024.

Singapore’s citizen population grew 0.7 per cent in 2025, said Mr Gan.

Even with immigration, the growth of the country’s citizen population has slowed over the past 10 years – falling from an average of 0.9 per cent per year between 2015 and 2020, to 0.8 per cent per year over 2020 to 2025.

“If no new measures are taken, our citizen population will start to shrink by the early part of the 2040s,” said Mr Gan.

Assuming the total fertility rate stays at 0.87, every 100 residents today will have 44 children and 19 grandchildren, said Mr Gan.

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

"We cannot give up," said Mr Gan. 

Noting the significant drop in total fertility rate from 1.24 a decade ago, he said low birth rates and an ageing population will “profoundly reshape” Singapore, as well as its society and economy in the coming years.

Singapore saw about 27,500 resident births in 2025, the lowest number in its recorded history, said Mr Gan.

“The overall trend is also of grave concern. Marriage rates have come down, and those who are married have fewer children or no children,” he added.

Singapore’s population is also ageing faster than ever, said Mr Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry. 

In 2025, one in five citizens was aged 65 or older, compared with one in eight in 2015.

“This is an existential challenge,” he said. 

PARENTHOOD RESET

To change the trajectory of the total fertility rate, the issue cannot be addressed by policy measures alone, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah. 

“What we need is a marriage and parenthood reset,” she added. 

Singapore must reset three areas – how marriage and parenthood are viewed and supported, how workplaces can evolve to better align work and family, and how everyone can play their part, said Ms Indranee. 

The government will form a new workgroup with the relevant agencies to look into these issues holistically and engage widely with members of the public, businesses and the people sector, she added. 

It will build on current efforts to enhance government support for marriage and parenthood, cultivate positive mindsets about this, and work with employers to foster family-friendly workplace cultures and practices. 

She added that the government will consider suggestions raised by Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Budget debate, including more childcare leave and providing more support for parents with costs.

IMMIGRATION AND THE ECONOMY

At the macro level, a declining population means less vitality in Singapore and its economy, said Mr Gan. 

Economic growth and income growth will slow while spending on healthcare and social issues must increase to support the growing population of seniors, he added. 

“This tremendous strain will be felt at the national level, but also at the individual households.”

With fewer citizens, it will also become increasingly difficult to meet Singapore’s national security and defence needs, said Mr Gan. 

“This raises the deeper question of what Singapore will be 50 or 100 years from now – will we remain vibrant, liveable and relevant? Will we exist?” 

Even as the government redoubles its efforts to support Singaporeans in starting families and having more children, the country will still need “carefully managed” immigration flow to augment its low birth rate, said the deputy prime minister.

While most Singaporeans recognise the case for immigration, this is not the full picture, he said, noting people’s concerns and anxieties. 

“Will bringing in immigrants mean fewer job opportunities for us? Will the Singapore that my children grow up in feel vastly different from the one that I grew up in? I understand these concerns,” said Mr Gan. 

“And we take these concerns over competition and our social fabric seriously. We will continue taking steps to address them.”

Singapore granted about 25,000 citizenships in 2025, he said. 

The country expects to take in between 25,000 to 30,000 new citizens each year over the next five years, said Mr Gan, noting that this depends on other demographic trends including the total fertility rate. 

“We will also have to adjust our PR (permanent resident) intake, as permanent residence is the pathway to work towards citizenship,” he added. 

Singapore’s PR population has remained stable at 540,000 over the last few years, said Mr Gan. 

The country expects to take in about 40,000 PRs each year in the next five years, more than the 35,000 granted in 2025, he said. 

In 2024, 22,766 people were granted citizenship and 35,264 individuals were granted permanent residency. In general, the figures have been trending upwards since 2013.

Singapore intends to maintain the broad ethnic balance of its citizen population and carefully manage the impact of immigration on its population composition to preserve the overall texture of society, said Mr Gan. 

The government will ensure Singapore does not bring immigrants in faster than it can accommodate, be selective about who is brought in, and step up integration efforts, he added.

With these adjustments, Singapore hopes to maintain a citizen population with modest growth, he said, adding that this growth is likely to slow further to “about half a per cent”. 

“But even at half a per cent, this is going to be hard, as it would depend on the TFR being held up,” said Mr Gan, adding that the government will review this again in 2030. 

In the past five years, Singapore’s foreign workforce grew at an average of 3.3 per cent per year, mostly driven by the post-pandemic catch-up in the construction industry, he added. 

Excluding construction work permit holders, the foreign workforce grew more slowly at an average of 2.5 per cent per year, Mr Gan noted. 

“But as our citizen population grows more slowly, we will keep a close watch on the growth of the non-resident population, which includes foreign workers, to ensure that Singapore citizens remain the majority of the population,” he added. 

Singapore’s total population will still be significantly below 6.9 million by 2030, he said. If present trends continue, it will take Singapore “considerable time” to reach that figure beyond 2030. 

“Let me be clear that we are not chasing growth for the sake of growth. Economic growth is the means to an end, which is to improve the lives of Singaporeans,” said Mr Gan, noting that the goal has always been to serve Singaporeans’ interests. 

“We will keep close track of the population size and composition, to ensure that the trends are sustainable, that infrastructure needs are met in a timely and adequate way, and that ultimately, Singaporeans benefit from our population policies.” 

Editor's note: An earlier version of the infographic incorrectly presented the total fertility rate as a percentage. We apologise for the error.