By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia |
Posted: 25 December 2009 1441 hrs
SINGAPORE: 32,630 babies were born in Singapore in the
first 10 months of this year, far short of the 50,000 needed to
replace the population each year.
That's according to figures obtained by MediaCorp from the Registry
of Births and Deaths.
For the whole of 2008, 39,826 babies were born in Singapore.
Singapore has had three marriage and parenthood packages so far,
the most recent one in 2008.
Despite such efforts, Singaporeans are not replacing
themselves.
Sociologists argue that one important reason for this lack of
improvement is the state of the economy.
Said Dr Chang Yau Hoon from the School of Social Sciences at the
Singapore Management University: "A lot of family planning decision
is being made based on the economy, like whether a person can keep
their job, maintain their job. Their salary over the couple of
years would be a main determinant.
"Inflation....whether there would be an expected rise and the cost
of living. They would want to ensure they can provide for the
family and provide a good education (for their children).
"(They would consider) whether in their particular occupation, they
need mobility, especially for women.....then, they may delay having
babies."
Hence the need for Singapore to bring in new citizens to make up
for the low birth numbers.
Dr Chang said: "I don't actually see a correlation between the
influx of foreign migrants and people's decision to have more
babies or not. At the end of the day there is only so much that
social engineering can do. A lot of the decisions for family
planning are big long term decisions and it would have to come from
peoples' confidence over the years towards the future."
The falling trend is also evident from the number of births at
Singapore's largest hospital for women and children. From January
to November this year, 11,069 babies were born at the KK Women's
and Children's Hospital.
The figure for 2008 was 12,535.
But some private hospitals like the Thomson Medical Centre have
recorded an increase in the number of babies born at their
premises. Some 8,900 babies were delivered there so far this year,
compared to 8,567 births last year.
- CNA/ir