Global crash in fertility rate, more Singaporeans delaying pregnancy

The world is experiencing a global crash in the number of children being born and by 2100, it is projected that 183 out of 195 countries have a fertility rate below the replacement level (when the number falls below approximately 2.1 children born per female).

 

According to research published in The Lancet, the fertility rate is projected to fall below 1.7 by the year 2100 and this includes countries like China, India, UK and Japan.

Global decrease in fertility rate

The falling birth rates mean countries will also age dramatically, with as many people turning 80 as there are being born each year.

This is what the study projects in its 2100 population:

• Under five: Decrease from 681 million in 2017 to 401 million in 2100
• Over 80: Increase from 141 million in 2017 to 866 million in 2100

But contrary to what people might think of issues surrounding fertility such as sperm count, the decline in fertility rates is a result of improved access to women’s reproductive services (e.g. contraception), as well as education, the study states.

These factors have led to women choosing to have fewer children and at a later time.

Declining fertility rate in Singapore 

Like many other developed societies, Singapore is no exception when it comes to declining fertility rates.

And this is despite incentives given by the Government such as cash grants for new parents and public housing for young couples.

In fact, Singapore has been seeing mostly a downward trend in fertility since the 1980s.

Currently, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Singapore stands at 1.14 children per female in 2019. 

According to the Department of Statistics Singapore, more Singapore mums are choosing to delay giving birth. 

Fewer babies are born to mums between the ages of 25 to 29 years old, as compared to mums between the ages of 30 to 34 years old. 

In 2019, there were 92.4 babies born out of every thousand females between 30 to 34 years old. 

On the other hand, there were only 59.4 babies born in the same year for females between 25 to 29 years old.

Implications to those of the working-age

According to The Lancet, the most affected countries will be those with high-income who have fewer people of working age, 20 to 64 years old.

Over the next 80 years, there is a projected decrease in the number of people under 65 and an increase in those aged 65 or older.  

And not just affecting those in the workforce, a decline in population also has major implications to education, health and social care planning, economic growth to geopolitical stability and even the environment.

Whether it is paying for healthcare, taxes, it is unimaginable what the younger generation will have to face. 

“It will create enormous social change,” said researcher Prof Christopher Murray to the BBC on population decline. “It makes me worried because I have an eight-year-old daughter and I wonder what the world will be like.”

This article was first published in theAsianparent.