Singapore recorded fewer than 30,000 live births in a single year for the first time since independence, with new figures showing the country’s birth rate continued its long-term decline in 2025.
According to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority’s (ICA) Report on Registration of Births and Deaths 2025, there were 29,864 live births last year, representing an 11.4 per cent decrease from the 33,703 births recorded in 2024.
The latest figures also pushed Singapore’s crude birth rate to 6.5 births per 1,000 residents, the lowest level recorded in the past decade.
Citizen Births Continue To Decline
Of the 29,864 babies born in 2025, 27,393 were resident births, meaning at least one parent was either a Singapore citizen or permanent resident.
Among these, 26,071 babies, or about 87 per cent, had at least one Singaporean parent.
The number of citizen births fell by 10.8 per cent compared with 2024, while resident births declined by 11.1 per cent over the same period.
The report also found that Chinese babies made up the largest share of births at 56.6 per cent, followed by Malays at 22.5 per cent and Indians at 11.5 per cent.
However, the Malay community continued to record the highest birth rate at 11.8 births per 1,000 residents, compared with 7.3 for Indians and 5.3 for Chinese residents.
Mothers Continuing To Have Children Later In Life
The report highlighted an ongoing trend of women delaying childbirth.
The median age of first-time mothers increased from 31.3 years in 2021 to 32.1 years in 2025, indicating that many Singaporeans are choosing to start families later.
Among the three major ethnic groups, Chinese mothers had their first child at a median age of 32.9 years, while the median age was 30.9 years for Indian mothers and 28.8 years for Malay mothers.
The median age of mothers having their second or subsequent child also continued to rise over recent years.
Deaths Increase Slightly While Population Growth Slows
Singapore registered 26,499 deaths in 2025, a slight increase of 0.2 per cent compared with the previous year.
Of these, 25,300 were residents, including 24,470 Singapore citizens.
With births falling sharply while deaths remained relatively stable, Singapore’s natural population increase dropped to 3,365, less than half of the 7,261 recorded in 2024.
The majority of deaths involved elderly residents, with 87.4 per cent occurring among people aged 60 and above.
Cancer, together with heart and hypertensive diseases, remained the leading causes of death, accounting for 52.1 per cent of all registered deaths.
Around 2 per cent of deaths were attributed to external or unnatural causes, including accidents and suicides.
The latest figures come as Singapore continues to face one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, reflecting broader demographic challenges linked to an ageing population and declining birth numbers.