{"text":[[{"start":7.68,"text":"Singapore has unveiled a package of measures to encourage families to have more children, offering parents more than $55,000 per child as the city-state battles a falling birth rate that has made it one of the fastest-ageing countries in the world."}],[{"start":21.64,"text":"Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced an overhaul of child payment and parental leave during his annual National Day Rally speech on Sunday, saying that the government aimed to “make it easier for Singaporeans who want children to start and raise a family”."}],[{"start":35.48,"text":"Singapore, with a population of just over 6mn, registered a record-low fertility rate of 0.87 children per woman last year, down from 0.97 in 2024 and nearing South Korea’s world-lowest rate of 0.8. Demographers believe a threshold of 2.1 is needed to maintain a stable population, absent net immigration."}],[{"start":57.72,"text":"The falling birth rate — along with advances in healthcare that have extended lifespans — has put Singapore on course to become a “super-aged” society this year, defined by the UN as a country where more than 21 per cent of the population is aged 65 or older. By 2030, one in four Singaporeans is expected to meet that threshold."}],[{"start":77.96,"text":"“We want every family to know: if you choose to have children, the government will stand with you,” Wong said on Sunday. “We will provide more support and over more years.”"}],[{"start":87.36,"text":"Wong said the government would provide almost S$70,000 ($55,150) in direct financial support to families for each child, up to the age of 17. That includes a S$10,000 gift at birth and a S$10,000 payment to support their further education."}],[{"start":105.48,"text":"The measures build on existing handouts the government already provides to families, but the new structure increases payments and spreads them out across a child’s early years rather than focusing on birth."}],[{"start":115.96,"text":"Wong also said Singapore would expand parental leave allowances, especially for families with more children, with the government covering more of the cost for employers. Wong added that the government would also make it easier for families with children to buy their first properties through the subsidised housing scheme."}],[{"start":131.96,"text":"However, he warned that there was only so much the government could do to encourage families to have more children. Many young people are delaying parenthood in pursuit of financial security or deciding against having children altogether."}],[{"start":144.18,"text":"“Despite all that we do to support families, we have to be realistic — our total fertility rate is still likely to fall far short of replacement,” he said."}],[{"start":153.52,"text":"“If we relied only on births, our citizen population will shrink. We would age more rapidly. And there would be fewer younger Singaporeans to support a growing number of seniors.”"}],[{"start":164.56,"text":"Wong said the government would maintain its longstanding policy of supplementing domestic population growth with immigration."}],[{"start":171.22,"text":"But that stance has not always been popular among Singaporean citizens, who often associate rising levels of immigration with increased property prices and more competition for jobs."}],[{"start":182.28,"text":"The number of foreigners granted permanent residence status and citizenship has gradually ticked up since the Covid pandemic, with 35,264 and 22,766 approvals respectively in 2024, the last year of available data."}],[{"start":198.88,"text":"Wong said the government would welcome new arrivals “at a measured and sustainable pace” to ensure that “Singaporeans remain the majority in our own country”."}],[{"start":207.56,"text":"He added: “All this means that in the coming years our overall population will grow more slowly. And our labour force will grow more slowly too.”"}],[{"start":221.8,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787555249_1702.mp3"}