Addressing the Parliament last week, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong warned that without intervention, Singapore’s citizen population could begin to contract by the early 2040s. He noted that low birth rates and an aging population will “profoundly reshape” Singapore, as well as its society and economy, in the coming years.
Reversing this demographic trajectory is becoming increasingly difficult as the number of women of childbearing age continues to shrink.
Recent statistics highlight the severity of the decline, as Singapore’s total fertility rate (TFR) dropped from 1.24 a decade ago to a historic low of 0.87 in 2025. This downward trend saw the TFR fall below 1.0 for the first time in 2023 to 0.97, remaining steady in 2024, according to a Straits Times report.
Singapore saw about 27,500 resident births in 2025, the lowest number in its recorded history.
To put this into perspective, the current TFR implies that for every 100 residents today, there will be only 44 children and 19 grandchildren in the succeeding generations.
To counter these demographic headwinds, Gan emphasized the importance of a “carefully managed immigration flow to augment our low birth rate” while safeguarding a stable citizen core and ensuring that infrastructure, such as housing and transport systems, is not overstretched.
The government’s strategy moving forward focuses on increased citizenship approvals and boosting permanent residency. Singapore expects to take in between 25,000 and 30,000 foreigners as new citizens each year over the next five years.
This is an increase from the 25,000 citizenships granted in 2025, which grew the citizen population by 0.7%, according to Channel News Asiaand the historical average of 21,300 granted yearly between 2020 and 2024.
Because citizenship is closely tied to permanent residency, the country also expects to take in about 40,000 PRs annually over the next five years, up from the 35,000 granted in 2025.
“We will also have to adjust our permanent resident intake, as permanent residence is the pathway to work towards citizenship,” Gan added.
As of June 2025, Singapore’s total population reached 6.11 million, a 1.2% increase from 2024, driven by growth in foreign employment. The population consists of 3.66 million citizens, 0.54 million permanent residents, and 1.91 million non-residents.
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