March 13, 2024

Fertility rates continue to fall worldwide, with more and more individuals choosing to have fewer children or forgo parenthood altogether. Singapore is no exception and currently has one of the lowest total fertility rates (TFR) in the world, with the resident TFR having declined to below 1.0 in 2023. The low birth rate is a pressing issue for economies, with a smaller labour force and a rapidly ageing population.

To understand why individuals are having fewer children, studies have been done to examine perceptions towards child-rearing. One such study was recently conducted by Provost-Chair Professor Jean Yeung (NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and A*STAR Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences), Assistant Professor Wang Senhu (NUS Sociology & Anthropology), and fellow international researchers, looking to understand individuals’ perceived family ideals, as reported in ‘Singaporeans prefer to have just one child, instead of being childless: Study’ (The Straits Times, March 2024). The researchers find that Singaporeans tend to favour having one child as opposed to having none.

The study was done across eight countries (Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Italy, Spain, Norway, the United States, and China) with over 22,000 participants polled about their thoughts on parenthood. In Singapore alone, 3,500 people were interviewed, with similar results to the findings of the other countries. Although a trend was seen globally, the findings marked a shift in mindsets locally, as previous research had indicated that Singaporeans tended to prefer having two children instead. The researchers also note that their updated methodology aimed to produce more authentic answers from participants, reflecting a more accurate understanding of parenthood ideals in Singapore and the other countries.

Read the article here.