March 16, 2021

The Singapore Demographic Bulletin Fourth Quarter 2020 report highlights Singapore’s serious population problem. This report provided provisional figures to suggest that in 2020, Singapore’s birth rate hit a 10-year low while death rates were highest in almost a century. ‘Births in Singapore hit decade low as deaths climb to historic peak’ in The Straits Times reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic, its impacts on childbirths, and the strategies necessary to deal with this worrying population trend.

In the article, Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser (NUS Sociology) remarks that some couples have delayed parenthood plans due to the pandemic. Singapore’s circuit breaker and work-from-home arrangements may also have given rise to more conflict between couples, impeding a lockdown-induced baby boom. A/P Tan’s observation are affirmed by Professor Jean Yeung (NUS Sociology and Centre for Family and Population Research), who attributes declining birth rates to the uncertain economy and marriage postponements. The researchers caution that the population statistics do not consider the full implications of COVID-19. The declining birth rates reflect only babies who have been conceived pre-pandemic. Therefore, the effects of the pandemic on birth rates will be more accurately observed in 2021.

Fortunately, the pandemic has not contributed to Singapore’s increasing death rates. Singapore’s ageing population is the dominant contributor to its death rates. However, the combined impacts of decreasing birth rates and increasing death rates on Singapore’s population will be significant moving forward.

Government officials and researchers interviewed suggest that declining birth rates should not be taken as a lost cause. The pandemic has opened up alternative work arrangements that could support parenthood in new ways. For instance, parents mentioned that childcare leave and flexi-work arrangements allowed them to better balance work commitments and parental responsibilities. For Singapore to increase its birth rates, continued partnerships between government and employers will incentivise childbirths and support aspiring couples.

Read the article here: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/births-in-singapore-hit-decade-low-as-deaths-climb-to-historic-peak