Singapore: to tackle the falling birth rate, the government is offering families up to 47,000 euros for each child

Singapore is introducing new financial incentives to tackle the falling birth rate, offering families nearly 70,000 Singapore dollars – around 47,000 euros – in direct support for each child up to the age of 17. The new package was announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during his traditional National Day Rally speech. “We want to make it easier for Singaporeans who wish to have children to start a family and raise their children,” explained Wong, as quoted by the Financial Times.

The measures include a grant of 10,000 Singapore dollars (around 6,700 euros) upon the birth of a child and a further 10,000 for the child’s future education, as well as an extension of parental leave and incentives for first-time home buyers.

The city-state, which has a population of just over six million, is facing a particularly severe demographic crisis, with one of the lowest birth rates in Asia (only Taiwan and South Korea fare worse, alongside Hong Kong and Macao). In 2025, the fertility rate fell to a record low of 0.87 children per woman, down from 0.97 the previous year and well below the threshold of 2.1 needed to ensure generational replacement.

Singapore is also set to become a ‘super-ageing’ society as early as this year, according to United Nations criteria, with at least 21 per cent of the population aged 65 or over, thus joining the group of countries that includes, amongst others, Japan, Italia and Germany. By 2030, one in four Singaporeans is expected to be aged 65 or over.

“If you choose to have children, the government will be there for you. We will provide greater support for a longer period,” Wong assured, whilst acknowledging, however, that “our total fertility rate is likely to remain well below the replacement level”. Without the contribution of immigration, the Chief Executive warned, the population would decline and age even more rapidly.