Like many countries around the world, Singapore is experiencing a fertility crisis, with too few babies born to maintain the population level without net immigration, much less increase it. Last year, Singapore registered a record low rate of just 0.87 children per woman. At the same time, advances in healthcare that help people to live longer have put Singapore on course to become a “super aged” society, where more than a fifth of the population is 65 or older. To change that dynamic, the government will offer huge bonuses and other incentives, totaling more than $55,000 per child up to age 17. That would make it one of the most generous cumulative fertility incentives in the world.
Hard Numbers
Singapore’s baby push
Will Fitzpatrick
By Alex KlimentAugust 25, 2026
Alex Kliment
Alex wears a few different caps and tips them all regularly. He writes for the GZERO Daily, works as a field correspondent for GZERO's nationally syndicated TV show GZERO WORLD WITH IAN BREMMER, and writes/directs/voices GZERO's award-winning puppet satire show PUPPET REGIME. Prior to joining GZERO, Alex worked as an analyst covering Russia and broader Emerging Markets for Eurasia Group. He has also written for the Financial Times from Washington, DC, and Sao Paulo Brazil. In his spare time, he makes short films and composes scores for long ones. He studied history and Slavic literature at Columbia and has a Master's from Johns Hopkins SAIS. He's a native New Yorker, a long-suffering Mets fan, and owns too many bicycles.
