Governments around the world are increasingly offering cash payments, tax breaks, housing subsidies and childcare support in an effort to persuade citizens to have more children as birth rates fall and populations age. Declining birth rates can strain a country's economy because there aren't enough people being born to support the aging population. That means greater strains on social programs like Social Security and Medicare in the United States since more and more people are using the programs, but not enough people are paying into them.
Declining birth rates are a global problem, and a growing number of countries are rolling out increasingly generous pro-family incentives, ranging from direct payments for newborns to years of childcare assistance. Singapore has spent years expanding financial support for families as it grapples with one of the world's lowest fertility rates. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong recently announced a major expansion of family support measures, emphasizing that the government wants to provide assistance well beyond a child's birth and into the early years of parenting.
Each child will receive almost S$70,000, the equivalent of about $55,000 USD, in direct financial support by the time they turn 17. The program will replace the current program, which includes the Baby Bonus Scheme. Under the Baby Bonus Scheme, parents are given cash gifts throughout the first six-and-a-half years of a child's life.
The first and second child get a total of S$11,000, equivalent to about $8,660 USD, disbursed in six-month increments, and every other child gets S$13,000, equivalent to about $10,236 USD. Under the Large Families Scheme, which will also be replaced when the new package goes into effect, families can receive an additional $16,000 for each third or subsequent child born after February 18, 2025. Despite those efforts, Singapore's birth rate remains among the lowest globally.
The cash incentives began in 2001 and haven't been able to reverse the declining trend in birth rates. Policies alone cannot make this happen. But what we can do is make it easier for Singaporeans who want children to start and raise a family,” Wong said in a statement.
China has dramatically shifted from restricting births to actively encouraging them. After decades of the one-child policy, Chinese officials are now trying to boost fertility as births have fallen and the population has begun shrinking. In 2025, Beijing rolled out a nationwide childcare subsidy that provides families with 3,600 yuan, or about $500, annually for each child under age three.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
