Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has urged married couples to have babies during the year and assured them of the government’s support.
“So now is as good a time as any for young couples to add a ‘little dragon’ to your family,” said Lee in a statement.
For the Chinese, children born in the Year of the Dragon are considered to be auspicious.
“We will build a ‘Singapore Made for Families’, and continue supporting your marriage and parenthood aspirations,” 72-year-old Lee said.
In order to raise the birth rate, support for infant caregiving and work-life harmony has been “progressively strengthened” to see parents through their children’s formative years, he said.
“Ultimately, couples will decide whether to have children for their own reasons. I hope more will decide to go ahead, and I am confident they will find parenthood a deeply rewarding and fulfilling journey,” he added.
Fertility rates across the world have been declining especially in developed countries like Singapore.
The total fertility rate for Singapore was at an all-time low of 1.05 in 2022, dipping below the previous record of 1.1 in 2020 and the 2021 figure of 1.12.
In 2023, the minister in prime minister’s office Indranee Rajah had said that the drop was “was partly due to the Tiger year in the lunar calendar, which is generally associated with lower births among the Chinese”,
The prime minister acknowledged the fact that with every generation having different aspirations young people are prioritising career development, spending quality time with their partners among others.
“Even couples who want kids may put off starting families, not realising how quickly it gets harder with each passing year,” he noted. “All this is quite understandable. But I still hope that more Singaporean couples will decide to have more children, and to have them earlier!”
Singaporeans will celebrate Chinese New Year this weekend on February 10 and 11.
