Fact Summary of Singapore's Population, Marriage, and Fertility

Introduction

   The subject of Unmarried Females and Falling Birth Rates is not new. From the abrupt reversal of the "stop-at-top" policy to the setting up of the Social Development Unit(SDU) more than 15 years ago, to the recent call by numerous government ministers and quasi-governmental bodies to Get Married and Make More Babies, one would think that this is the greatest catastrophy to ever befall Singapore.
   This webpage attempts to collate and examine the various facts, figures, and arguements regarding this perennial topic, introduced in its latest form as "Single Graduate Females" by none other than the Prime Minister.

Statistics

   Here are the figures from various official bodies. And remember that age-old caveat: There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.
  1. Singapore's Population
  2. Marriage Statistics
  3. Marriage vs Education
  4. Fertility
  5. The "average" person
  6. Personalized marriage calculator

Singapore's Population

1970

1980

1990

1998

1)   Total Population

2,074,500

2,413,900

3,016,400

3,865,600

  • The population has increased between 1980 and 1998, and recently crossed the 4 million mark in 1999.

    1970

    1980

    1990

    2)   Median Age

    19.7

    24.4

    29.8

  • This population increase is accompanied by an aging population.


    Marriage Statistics

    1)  Mean age of marriage (1993):

    Males:

    29.3 years

    Females:

    26.3 years


    2)  Lifetime prevalence of singlehood (1993)(Overall):

    Males:

    18%

    		(I.e. About 1 in 6 males will never marry)

    Females:

    14%

    		(I.e. About 1 in 7 females will never marry)
    (See     below for rates for University Graduates)

    3)  Mean Age at First Marriage:   Marriage Trends
  • Graph above obviously shows Increasing mean marriage age for both sexes.

    4)  Singlehood over the years: (30-35 years)

    1980

    1985

    1990

    1993

    Single Males (% of cohort)

    21.3

    26.9

    34.0

    35.6

    Single Females (% of cohort)

    16.6

    19.3

    20.9

    21.4

  • More Singaporeans of both sexes are remaining single.


    Marriage in relation to Education

    1)  Singlehood by Educational Level: (Aged 35-39, 1993)
    Educational Level:

    Pre-Secondary

    Secondary

    University

    Males

    21.4

    15.9

    12.9

    		(Decreasing with higher education)
    Females

    9.2

    17.6

    25.5

    		(Increasing with higher education)

    2)  Lifetime prevalence of single graduates (1993):
    Male graduates: About 1 in 8 (12%) will remain single
    Female graduates: About 1 in 4 (25%) will stay single
  • One-quarter of all female graduates remain single - twice that of their male counterparts
  • (Compare this to the table above, which shows data for the general population)


    Fertility Rates

    1970

    1980

    1990

    1)   Mean No. of Children Born

    4.0

    3.4

    2.9

  • Birth Rates are Falling.

    1970

    1980

    1990

    1998

    2)   Total Fertility Rate

    3.1

    1.8

    1.8

    1.5

    Explanation:
    Total Fertility Rate(TFR) is the average number of children born to a woman in her reproductive lifetime.
    A TFR of 2.10 is accepted by the United Nations as being the "replacement level" to sustain a population.
      (Think of it as 2 kids to replace the parents, and 0.10 for people who died without reproducing)
    As can be seen from the table, Singapore has been Below replacement fertility for more than 20 years now.


    The "average" person:

    Still too confused? Check out the " average" person!

    What does this mean for ME?

    Click here to find out!

    NOV 28 1999
    Sources available on request. Copyrights and references acknowledged. All rights reserved.
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