Singapore recorded fewer than 30,000 live births in 2025, the first time this has happened since the country became independent.
According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s Report on the Registration of Births and Deaths 2025, there were 29,864 live births during the year.
That was an 11.4% decrease from the 33,703 babies born in 2024.
In actual numbers, 3,839 fewer babies were born within just one year.
Singapore Recorded Its Lowest Number of Births Since Independence
Based on SingStat records dating back to 1960, the 29,864 live births recorded in 2025 were the lowest in Singapore’s post-independence history.
For comparison, Singapore recorded 55,725 live births in 1965, the year it became independent.
The latest figure includes all live births that occurred in Singapore, rather than only babies who are Singapore citizens.
Of the babies born in 2025, 26,071 had at least one parent who was a Singapore citizen. These are classified as citizen live births.
There were 27,393 resident live births, meaning the baby had at least one parent who was either a Singapore citizen or permanent resident.
Citizen live births fell by 10.8% from 29,237 in 2024, while resident live births dropped by 11.1% from 30,808.
Singapore’s crude birth rate also fell from 7.4 births per 1,000 residents in 2024 to 6.5 in 2025.
The longer-term trend is equally obvious. Singapore had 41,251 live births in 2016, meaning annual births have fallen by more than a quarter within nine years.
Singapore’s Fertility Rate Also Reached a Record Low
The falling number of births came alongside another record.
Singapore’s resident total fertility rate fell from 0.97 in 2024 to 0.87 in 2025, its lowest level on record.
The total fertility rate, or TFR, estimates the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime if current fertility patterns remain unchanged.
It is not a percentage, so a TFR of 0.87 does not mean that Singapore has somehow completed 87% of a baby.
Births fell across all ethnic groups in 2025. However, the decline among Chinese residents was proportionately larger, at about 15%.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah said in February 2026 that this was partly caused by the typical fall after a Dragon Year.
The Dragon is traditionally regarded as an auspicious Chinese zodiac sign, which can result in more Chinese couples planning to have children during Dragon Years. As 2024 was a Dragon Year, some decline in 2025 had been expected.
However, the overall trend goes beyond zodiac preferences.
The ICA report found that the median age of resident first-time mothers rose from 31.3 years in 2021 to 32.1 years in 2025, reflecting a continuing trend of women having their first child later.
Births Still Exceeded Deaths, But the Gap Shrunk Sharply
Singapore recorded 26,499 deaths in 2025, an increase of just 0.2% from 26,442 in 2024.
This meant that births still exceeded deaths by 3,365.
This difference is known as the natural increase. It measures how much a population grows from births and deaths alone, without including immigration.
However, the natural increase has been shrinking rapidly.
It fell from 7,261 in 2024 to 3,365 in 2025, meaning it more than halved in a single year. In 2016, Singapore’s natural increase was 21,234.
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said in Parliament in February 2026 that Singapore’s citizen population could begin shrinking in the early 2040s if no new measures were introduced.
He said the combination of low birth rates and an ageing population could affect economic growth, healthcare and social spending, as well as Singapore’s national security and defence needs.
A Workgroup Is Studying What Else Singapore Can Do
The Government established a Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup in April 2026 to study how Singapore can better support people who wish to marry and have children.
The workgroup is examining factors including the cost of raising children, housing, caregiving, healthcare, preschool education, workplace practices and work-life support.
It aims to release a full report in early 2027, although recommendations may be announced earlier where appropriate.
Existing support has also been expanded. Since 1 April 2026, eligible working parents of Singapore citizen children have received 10 weeks of shared parental leave, on top of maternity and paternity leave.
However, the Government has acknowledged that financial support and additional leave cannot reverse fertility trends on their own.
Social attitudes towards marriage and parenthood, workplace expectations and the availability of caregiving support also affect whether people decide to have children.
Singapore is not going to run out of babies by next Tuesday. However, with births falling below 30,000 and the natural increase shrinking by more than half, the direction of the population trend has become difficult to ignore.
