Singapore has promised nearly 70,000 Singapore dollars in support for every citizen child up to age 17. Yet the birth rate keeps falling. The country's fertility rate dropped to just 0.87 in 2025, a record low, and fewer than 30,000 babies were born. The prime minister announced a new support package. It includes a 10,000-dollar cash gift in the first year and 2,000 a year from ages 1 to 16.
A sociologist says cash improves couples' circumstances but does not necessarily make them want children. In 2025, the average full-time employee in Singapore worked 44.3 paid hours a week. That is more than 2,200 hours a year, compared with about 1,750 in developed countries. The prime minister has said the government will depend less on cash incentives and work on making daily family life easier.