55 thousand dollars provided for each newborn child

The Singaporean government has announced a new package of measures aimed at encouraging families to have children due to the country's consistently declining birth rate. Under the new program, financial assistance of nearly 70,000 Singapore dollars, or approximately 55,000 US dollars, will be provided for each child until they reach the age of 17. This was reported by the Financial Times.

According to the new package, 10,000 Singapore dollars will be provided at the birth of the child. An equal amount will be allocated for their future education. The remaining portion will be paid out in stages at various intervals as the child grows up.

Through this approach, the government aims to provide families with long-term economic support, not only during the initial period after the child's birth but also throughout the process of raising and nurturing them to adulthood.

In addition, payments during parental leave for families with multiple children will be expanded. It is planned that a larger portion of the costs currently borne by employers will be covered by the state. There are also plans to expand opportunities for families with children to purchase their first home through preferential programs.

It is noted that Singapore's fertility rate dropped to a record low last year. The number of children per woman was 0.87. In 2024, this figure was 0.97.

Demographers emphasize that to maintain a naturally stable population, excluding migration, the fertility rate needs to be approximately 2.1. At the same time, the aging of the population is becoming one of the serious demographic problems facing Singapore.

According to UN criteria, a country is considered a "super-aged society" if more than 21 percent of its population is aged 65 or older. Singapore is expected to reach this stage this year.

At the same time, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has stated that despite the measures taken by the government, it is unlikely that the birth rate will reach the level necessary to naturally maintain the population.

He noted that if the country relies solely on births for population growth, the number of Singaporean citizens will shrink, the population will age even faster, and the proportion of young people who need to support the older generation will decrease.

Therefore, the Singaporean government intends to continue its immigration policy to ensure population growth. However, it is emphasized that newcomers will be accepted at a controlled and stable pace, and Singaporeans will remain the core component of the country's population.