The Big Story: Singapore’s fertility rate at new low. Can we reverse the baby bust before its too late?

Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong · Feb 27, 2026 · 11m

Singapore’s total fertility rate has fallen to a historic low of 0.87, raising fresh concerns about whether the nation is heading toward long-term population decline. Despite years of pro-family policies and generous financial incentives, birth rates continue to slide, with Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong warning that the citizen population could start shrinking by the early 2040s without intervention. So what’s really driving Singaporeans to have fewer children? And if incentives fall short, will immigration be enough to offset the decline, and at what cost? On The Big Story…