"Many Chinese families consider a child born in the Year of the Dragon to be especially auspicious. The dragon is a symbol of power, strength and good fortune. So now is the most appropriate time for young couples to add a 'little dragon' to their family," Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called for in a speech celebrating the upcoming Lunar New Year, according to Nikkei Asia .
Prime Minister Lee, who was born in 1952 (the year of the Dragon), also stressed that he hoped his "encouragement" would "promote more couples to try to have more children, although I know that this decision is personal." As of June 2023, ethnic Chinese made up 74% of Singapore's residents, according to Nikkei Asia .
The message comes as the Singapore government expands support for families to have children to stem a falling birth rate. Rising living costs are seen by many as a deterrent to many couples having children.
The Singapore government is expected to introduce further measures to address this issue in this year's budget, which will be announced next week.
People take photos with a dragon sculpture at a shopping mall in Singapore on February 7.
With a total population of 5.92 million, including permanent residents and foreigners, Singapore's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman gives birth to, fell to a record low of 1.04 in 2022, according to the latest official data. This is one of the lowest globally, with South Korea at 0.78 and Japan at 1.26.
The Singapore government says the falling birth rate is due to people marrying later and parents having to care for their grandparents while also raising their children.
The Singapore government announced several measures to address the falling birth rate in its budget last year, including increasing government-paid paternity leave from two to four weeks for fathers with children born in January 2024 or later.
"Such measures will ease the burden on parents but they are only supportive measures. Ultimately, couples will decide whether to have children or not for their own reasons," Prime Minister Lee stressed.
A study by the Institute of Policy Studies (Singapore) released last month found that young people are less likely to have children due to high costs and stress, although most still want to get married. Among those aged 21 to 34, 72% felt that having children was not necessary in marriage, compared with 63% of those aged 35 to 49 and 49% of those aged 50 to 64, according to Nikkei Asia .
"Each generation has different aspirations, with many young people prioritising their careers, spending time with their partners and pursuing their hobbies. Even couples who want to have children may delay starting a family, not realising that it becomes more difficult as each year passes. All this is quite understandable. But I still hope that more Singaporean couples will decide to have more children and have them earlier," Mr Lee stressed in his Lunar New Year speech.
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