Number of babies born in 2023 fell to lowest in past 50 years

The number of babies born in 2023 fell to the lowest in at least the past 50 years, entrenching Singapore’s great baby drought.

A total of 33,541 babies were born in 2023 – a 5.8 per cent fall from the 35,605 babies born in 2022. The 2023 figure is 13.3 per cent lower than the 38,672 babies born in 2021.

The number of babies born in 2023 is contained in the Report on Registration of Births and Deaths 2023 published by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on July 11.

The 2023 figure is the lowest since at least 1971, when 47,088 babies were born. The Straits Times found births and deaths statistics dating back to 1971 in past years’ reports posted on the ICA website.

In February, it was announced that the resident total fertility rate (TFR) fell to below 1 for the first time in Singapore’s history, though the actual number of babies born in 2023 was not stated.

The TFR, which refers to the average number of babies each woman would have during her reproductive years, was 0.97 in 2023 – one of the lowest in the world.

While the number of births has been falling, the number of deaths has been climbing steadily in the past decade.

A total of 26,888 people died in 2023, just 0.01 per cent lower than the 26,891 deaths in 2022. The 2023 figure was 10.7 per cent higher than the 24,292 deaths in 2021.

The leading causes of deaths were heart and hypertensive diseases, and lung and respiratory system diseases, which collectively accounted for half of all deaths in 2023. About a quarter of people died from cancer in 2023.

For the first time, the 2023 report presented data on the number of babies whose births were registered with a double-barrelled race, as their parents are of different races.

Of the babies born in 2023 whose parents are of different races, 28.4 per cent had double-barrelled race. This is up from 12.9 per cent in 2014.

From 2011, inter-ethnic couples were given the option of reflecting both their races when registering their child’s birth.

This is on top of the existing option of choosing to reflect only either the father’s or the mother’s race.

The move comes given the growing number of inter-ethnic marriages over the years.

 

Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) senior research fellow Kalpana Vignehsa said: “As Singapore has become a globally connected city, it has become more common for people to want to recognise ethnic diversity within themselves and their children.”

Dr Tan Poh Lin, another IPS senior research fellow, said data from the Department of Statistics showed that the fertility rate fell among female Singaporeans and permanent residents aged between 25 and 29, and between 30 and 34. This is one reason behind the falling number of births in 2023.

She said another factor could be concerns over the rising cost of living.

Dr Tan added: “Besides, the growing number of singles and smaller families may bolster social acceptability of these trends, which further reduces motivations to get married or have more children.”

When asked about the fewer number of babies born in 2023, Professor Jean Yeung, director of social sciences at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Institute for Clinical Sciences, said the cost of having children falls disproportionally on women, as gender norms still assign most caregiving and housework responsibilities to them.

Prof Yeung, who is also a professor at NUS’ Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, said: “These responsibilities exert a high opportunity cost for women so that they usually end up forgoing higher wages, free time to pursue career development and self-interests, leisure, and consumption for themselves. 

“In Asia, the social and economic pressure put on young parents for raising a high-achieving child who excels in school performance adds another unattractive layer for young adults to want to have a baby.” 

Dr Tan Ern Ser, adjunct principal research fellow and academic adviser to the IPS Social Lab, said the rapidly ageing population is one factor behind the high number of deaths.

And if the number of babies born continues to fall and the number of deaths remains high, Singapore’s population would shrink if there is no increase in immigration, he added.

Singapore’s twin demographic challenges of a falling fertility rate and rapidly ageing population have serious implications for multiple issues, from the caregiving burden to economic dynamism.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah said during the Population Association of Singapore conference in May that low fertility rates, coupled with longer life expectancies, mean resources will be increasingly stretched as there are fewer working adults to support a rapidly ageing population.

She added: “Fewer births also mean that we will face a shrinking workforce.

“It will be more challenging to maintain our dynamism, attract global businesses, and create opportunities for the next generation.”