In Singapore, the standard narrative has long been that fewer people are having children because fewer people want children. However, a recent analysis from Singapore’s Department of Statistics (DOS) shows that falling birth rates now result primarily from increasing rates of singlehood, rather than from couples choosing to be child-free.

Data that my colleagues and I collected in the Singapore Perspectives 2024 (SP2024) survey helps to explain what is going on. It found that 40 per cent of women between 21 and 34 years old do not foresee themselves getting married.

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Dr Kalpana Vignehsa is senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, National University of Singapore.

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