Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has encouraged young couples to have more children to combat the country’s declining birth rate. Singaporeans celebrate Chinese New Year on February 10th and February 11th, but Monday is an additional holiday as the public holiday falls on a Sunday.
“This is the perfect time for young couples to add a ‘little dragon’ to their family,” PTI quoted the prime minister as saying in his annual Lunar New Year message.
The prime minister, who celebrates his birthday on February 10, said: “Now is the perfect time for young couples to add a ‘little dragon’ to their family.”
“One of the key elements of family life is having and raising children. Welcoming children into this world and watching them learn, grow, reach milestone after milestone, grow year after year. It’s a great joy for parents,” said Lee, who was born in 1952 in the year of the Dragon.
“Grandparents share this joy, just like I do. We dote on our grandchildren, we fuss about them, we help our parents raise them, and we play our part in this journey of happiness, purpose, and love. “I’m contributing,” he said.
Ms Lee said the dragon was a “symbol of power, strength and good fortune” and admitted that whether or not to have a baby would be a personal decision.
“Ultimately, couples will decide whether or not to have children for their own reasons. I hope more people decide to have children and that they find raising children to be a very rewarding and fulfilling journey. “I’m confident that people will feel that way,” he added.
Declining birth rate
The Prime Minister said the number of births is declining globally, and this trend is particularly pronounced in developed countries like Singapore. Singapore’s birth rate in 2022 was the lowest on record at 1.05, falling even lower than 1.1 and 1.12 in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Indrani Raja explained in February 2023 that the lunar Year of the Tiger, in which Chinese births have traditionally been low, contributed to the decline.
Singapore has eased regulations on egg freezing and extended parental leave to four weeks in 2022 due to historically low birth rates per woman. Similar challenges due to declining birth rates and aging populations are also faced by South Korea, China, and Japan.
(With input from agency)
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