Fertility rate steadily going south as more people put off marriage

This story was printed from TODAYonline (http://www.todayonline.com/articles/173775.asp)
Fertility rate steadily going south as more people put off marriage
Weekend • February 24, 2007
Jasmine Yin- (jasmine@mediacorp.com.sg)
THE year 2005 confirmed two trends that are unlikely to give pro-family advocates much to cheer about.
For the first time since 1980, there were more women aged between 30 and 34 who gave birth in 2005, than those in their late 20s.
 For every 1,000 women aged 30 to 34, about 90 became mothers. For the 25 to 29 age bracket, it was 80 per 1,000.
But this does not come as too much of a surprise, given the marginal difference between the two age groups in 2000.
Also in 2005, more men in their early to mid-30s got married, vis-à-vis the younger age bracket.
For every 1,000 single resident males aged 30 to 34, about 105 were married.
In the 25- to 29-year-old bracket, the ratio stood at just 85 per 1,000.
The rate of marriages has been falling.
More years spent in school and workforce participation has led to young Singaporeans postponing marriage and starting a family, said Institute of Policy Studies' senior research fellow Yap Mui Teng.
She spoke at a low fertility workshop organised by the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Friday.
Suggestions from the experts to boost the low fertility rate included cutting down on streaming and segregation in schools, which imposes tremendous pressure on parents and puts off those who may want to conceive.
As for criticism of the limited success of the Baby Bonus scheme, NUS sociologist Paulin Straughan said: "Pro-family policies are necessary but not enough to get people to have kids. If State policies are absent, the total fertility rate will drop for sure.
"That it has sustained (in 2004 and 2005) is a tremendous achievement in itself."
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