The National Population and Talent Department released a briefing in 2023 released on September 29. It was found that there were 30,000 429 citizen babies born in 2022, 4%less than the previous year.The overall fertility rate of residents is only 1.04, which is a new low in history.Insufficient fertility rates are not only closely related to the aging population of Singapore, but also involve the long -term prospects of the country. Chinese people must pay more attention.Although the government has launched different policies so far, including more financial awards, legal parent education for childcare leave, improvement of childcare services, encouraging the three generations of the same hall, etc., the effect is not as good as expected.How to reverse the trend of long -term decline in fertility must be beneficial and considered.
The continuous decline in fertility rate is almost a worldwide problem. Not only does it occur in developed countries and economies like Singapore, many middle -income countries such as Brazil and Thailand have been lower than the level of population replacement;India's overall fertility rate also fell below 2 in 2021.The Islamic world also faces similar challenges. The average fertility rate of 49 major Islamic countries fell from 4.3 in the 1990s to 2.9 in the 2010s, and there was no momentum of changing.The only area that has not encountered this problem today is southern Sahara Africa, and the overall fertility rate is maintained at about 5.
fertility is a personal choice of life. It must be respected and encouraged young people to give birth. It should avoid discussions and measures that easily cause emotional rebounds.From the perspective of rewards and assistance, the government has always reduced the potential concerns and actual burdens of young couples to raise babies.The latest measures are from January 1, 2024, the father's paid accompanying maternity leave will increase from the existing two weeks to four weeks.Employers can decide whether to provide this extra two weeks of vacation, and the salary of employees shall be borne by the government during the leave of leave.Based on past experience, the effectiveness of these measures may not be overestimated, but for couples who intend to be parents, they are affordable policies.
In addition to existing policies, with the potential of science and technology, there may be a lot of room for excavation.Not only does the child and childcare involve a wide range of aspects, but also the considerations of many traditional customs and moral values, it is necessary to obtain a wide range of consensus time.In addition, existing biotechnology such as artificial conception and frozen eggs has not been fully mature.However, the continuous progress of science and technology and the change of social value with the movement of the times means that they cannot ignore any possibilities.In the final analysis, after all, men and women have a certain age limit. How to encourage more people to be parents at the age of appropriateness is still the fundamental way.
The degree of education of contemporary women is getting higher and higher, and there are naturally more and more choices for life.After entering the workplace after completing higher education, they must stand firmly.Although employment and mate selection can be parallel, marriage is difficult to force after all.If you go through some twists and turns in the process of choosing a spouse, when you set up your family, you may have missed the golden window period of childbirth.Considering that the expected life span is continuously prolonged, many social models that have been doing for many years must be adjusted.For example, the model of more than 10 years of education and a remarry of several years of work can cooperate with the initiative of lifelong learning to complete the stage of education and career to zero, so that marriage and fertility occur at the age stage?
Practical speaking, there are no cases that have been in the economy of lack of fertility.Therefore, in addition to the abandonment of "giving birth", Singapore must face the reality and use policies to interfere with the speed of population aging.This must be considered to introduce the introduction of foreign population carefully.Singapore is a diverse immigration society and a small country with a small volume.These advantages make us more conditioned by attracting suitable migrants with appropriate amounts to supplement the local population and activate the population structure.Therefore, for the long -term plan of the country, Chinese people must maintain a more open and inclusive mentality to foreign immigrants.It must be pointed out that as the developed economies are "lacking", potential difficulties in this area cannot be ignored.
Like climate change, insufficient fertility rate does not seem to be urgent on the surface, but the trend of changes in the population structure has its own inertia and it is difficult to reverse easily. A large amount of data has indicated that the results of insufficient fertility rates can be foreseeable.And quite accurate.Therefore, through repeated discussions and publicity, to raise the awareness of the social crisis of the problem, and to implement more policies that are beneficial to fertility, it is necessary to have a long persistent efforts.
