Singapore's greatest baby drought: Rising share of women staying single is a major reason
SINGAPORE — The growing share of women remaining single is one major reason for Singapore's longstanding baby drought, with the resident total fertility rate (TFR) falling to below one in 2023 for the first time in Singapore's history.
A Department of Statistics (DOS) analysis of the factors behind the falling TFR found that the drop in the TFR between 2005 and 2023 was due to a decline in the proportion of married women, which offset slight increases in the fertility rate of married women.
The analysis, published in the DOS newsletter in May, comes after Singapore's resident TFR fell to 0.97 in 2023 — which is among the lowest in the world. The TFR refers to the average number of babies each woman would have during her reproductive years.
If more Singaporeans remain unwed, what this means is that Singapore's TFR is likely to continue to fall, said the academics who study population issues.