Singapore’s total fertility rate dropped to a record low of 0.87 in 2025, meaning fewer than 30,000 babies were born that year, according to the Singapore Department of Statistics.

In response, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced a child‑support package worth nearly S$70,000 per child, covering cash gifts from birth to age 17, including a S$10,000 gift in the first year and yearly payments of S$2,000 from ages 1 to 16.

Sociologist Tan Ern Ser of the National University of Singapore said cash and other incentives improve couples’ external circumstances, but they do not necessarily motivate people to have children.

Full‑time employees in Singapore worked an average of 44.3 paid hours each week in 2025 – about 2,200 hours a year – far above the roughly 1,750 hours typical in other developed nations.

Long work hours have become normal, and many couples worry they will have little time for a child. Senior research fellow Kalpana Vignehsa notes that the pressure is especially heavy on women, who must balance career, income and retirement savings, while society’s high expectations for parenting add further stress.