Slight rise in birth rate shows Singaporeans still value forming families: NPTD
SINGAPORE — Singapore’s birth and death rates grew slightly in 2019, maintaining a trend which the government says indicates that Singaporeans continue to value forming families.
In a media release on Tuesday (28 July), Singapore’s National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) noted that the annual average number of live births between 2015 and 2019 (40,274) was comparable to the annual average for the preceding five-year period between 2010 and 2014 (40,447).
Also, according to latest figures from the Department of Statistics, the annual average number of marriages registered in the last five years (27,389) was higher than the annual average registered between 2010 and 2014 (26,844).
“The longer-term marriage and birth trends remain positive; and indicate that Singaporeans continue to value settling down and forming families,” the media release said.
“We will continue to work closely with employers and the community to build a Singapore society that is ‘Made For Families’.”
Malays register highest birth rate among ethnicities
In 2019, there were 39,279 occurred live births, while 21,446 deaths and 73 still births were registered. When compared to 2018, there was an increase of 0.6 per cent in live births and 0.8 per cent in deaths registered.
Among the newborns, 23,305 (59.3 per cent) were Chinese, 7,615 (19.4 per cent) Malays, 4,210 (10.7 per cent) Indians and 4,149 (10.6 per cent) of newborns were of other races.
Malays registered the highest birth rate of 14.0 per 1,000 residents in 2019, followed by Indians at 8.7 per 1,000 residents. Chinese registered the lowest rate of 7.6 per 1,000 residents.
There were 280 live births born to teenagers aged 19 and below in 2019, a drop of 3.1 per cent as compared to 2018 (289). By proportion, 27.9 per cent of teenage births were born to Chinese, 59.3 per cent to Malays, 9.6 per cent to Indians and 3.2 per cent to other ethnic groups.
Based on the resident birth order figures, Singaporean women seem to have been delaying the birth of children till a later age.
In 2010, the average age of women giving birth to their firstborn children was 29.8 years; in 2019 the average age is 30.8 years. The average ages have similarly rose for women giving birth to second-born (32.4 to 33.1) and third-born children (33.9 to 34.3).
Among first-time mothers in 2019, 60.1 per cent had university degrees while 39.9 per cent had A Level or lower qualifications.
Median age at death continues to rise
In 2019, a total of 21,446 deaths were registered, an increase of 164 as compared with 21,282 deaths registered in 2018.
The median age at death was 77.4 years in 2019, continuing the gradual rise over the years from 74.4 years in 2010 and 75.5 in 2014.
Not including other natural causes, the increase in median age was most conspicuous among those with diabetes mellitus (71.7 year in 2010 to 77.4 years in 2019) and those with kidney disorders and disorders of urinary system (79.0 years in 2010 to 82.3 years in 2019).
Females lived longer than their male counterparts. The median age at death was 73.7 years for males compared to 80.7 years for females, a difference of seven years.
The two most common causes of death in Singapore in 2019 were malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumours) and heart and hypertensive diseases. Together they accounted for more than half (51.8 per cent) of total deaths.
Lung and respiratory system diseases and cerebrovascular diseases were another two prevalent causes, responsible for 23.1 per cent and 5.8 per cent of death cases respectively.
Unnatural causes such as accidents, suicides and other external causes made up 4.0 per cent of the deaths.
Deceased persons aged 60 years and over accounted for 83.9 per cent of the total deaths, while infant deaths (age less than one year old) accounted for 0.3 per cent.
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