’Have more babies’: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien asks citizens to add ‘little dragons’ to family

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong encouraged young couples to have more children to counter the country's falling birth rate. Singaporeans are celebrating Chinese New Year on February 10-11, with an extra holiday on Monday since the festival falls on Sunday.

“Now is as good a time as any for young couples to add a ‘little dragon’ to your family,” PTI quoted the premier as saying in his annual Lunar New Year message. 

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"So now is as good a time as any for young couples to add a 'little dragon' to your family," said the prime minister who celebrates his birthday on February 10. 

“One important element of family life is having and bringing up children. It is a great joy for parents to bring kids into this world, and to watch them learn and grow, reaching one milestone after another and growing up year-by-year,” said Lee who was born in the year of Dragon in 1952.

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"Grandparents, like me, share this joy too. We dote and fuss over our grandchildren, helping the parents to bring them up and contributing our part in this journey filled with happiness, purpose and love," he said.

The dragon is a “symbol of power, strength and good fortune,” Lee said as he acknowledged that having a baby would be a personal decision.

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"Ultimately, couples will decide whether to have children for their own reasons. I hope more will decide to go ahead, and I am confident they will find parenthood a deeply rewarding and fulfilling journey," he added.

Drop in fertility rate

The prime minister mentioned that, globally, fewer babies were being born, with this trend especially noticeable in developed societies like Singapore. In 2022, Singapore saw its lowest ever birth rate of 1.05, even lower than the 1.1 and 1.12 rates in 2020 and 2021, respectively. 

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Indranee Rajah, a minister in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), explained in February 2023 that the year of the Tiger in the lunar calendar, which traditionally saw fewer Chinese births, contributed to this decline.

Singapore relaxed regulations on egg freezing and increased paternity leave to four weeks due to a historic low birth rate per woman in 2022. Similar challenges with declining fertility rates and aging populations are faced by South Korea, China and Japan.

(With agency inputs)