Citizen births edge up 1.2% in 2024 while number of marriages fall 5.7%, with families getting smaller over time
[SINGAPORE] The Republic’s total population reached a record 6.11 million as at June 2025, up 1.2 per cent from a year earlier, driven primarily by growth in the non-resident population – particularly work permit holders in construction and migrant domestic workers.
The annualised population growth rate over the last five years was also higher at 1.5 per cent, compared with the 0.5 per cent recorded in the preceding five-year period between 2015 and 2020.
The growth was largely due to an increase in the number of work permit holders in the construction sector who are supporting major infrastructure projects, such as Changi Airport Terminal 5 and the ramping up of housing supply, said the National Population and Talent Division in its annual Population in Brief report on Monday (Sep 29).
The citizen population grew by 0.7 per cent to 3.66 million in June 2025 from the previous year, while the permanent resident (PR) population remained largely stable at 0.54 million.
Immigration flows
In 2024, 22,766 individuals were granted citizenship. In a change to the reporting methodology this year, this figure excludes children born overseas to Singaporean parents, who are entitled to citizenship by descent. A separate 1,409 children were granted citizenship by descent in 2024.
Meanwhile, there were 35,264 individuals who became PRs last year.
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The five-year average for citizenships granted between 2020 and 2024 was 21,300, while that for permanent residencies was 33,000. Both figures were slightly higher than in the preceding five-year period, which saw averages of 20,500 and 31,700, respectively.
The report noted that the number of new citizenships and permanent residencies granted each year depends on several factors, including the number and quality of applications received and Singapore’s changing needs.
Accelerated ageing
Singapore’s citizen population continued to age, with the median age rising to 43.7 years as at June 2025, up from 43.4 years at June 2024.
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Just over one in five citizens – or 20.7 per cent – were aged 65 and above as at June this year, compared with 13.1 per cent a decade ago in June 2015.
By 2030, around one in four citizens, or 23.9 per cent, will be aged 65 and above, as large cohorts of “baby boomers” continue entering the post-65 age range.
The number of citizens aged 80 and above surged approximately 60 per cent over the decade, from 91,000 in 2015 to 145,000 in 2025.
Fewer marriages, but citizen births edge higher
The number of citizen marriages fell 5.7 per cent to 22,955 in 2024, down from 24,355 in 2023. But this remains higher than the pre-Covid figure of 22,165 in 2019.
The five-year average for citizen marriages was 23,000, slightly lower than the 23,600 average in the preceding five years.
The median age at first marriage for citizen grooms and brides rose to 30.8 and 29.1 years, respectively, in 2024, up from 30.1 and 27.9 years in 2014.
Inter-ethnic marriages accounted for 19 per cent of citizen marriages in 2024, a proportion that has remained largely stable over the past decade.
Transnational marriages – those between a citizen and a non-citizen – made up 37 per cent of citizen marriages last year, similar to recent years barring dips during the Covid-19 years of 2020 and 2021.
The proportion of singles continued to rise across most age groups between 2019 and 2024, with the trend particularly pronounced among those aged 25 to 29 and 30 to 34.
Despite these trends, there were 29,237 citizen births in 2024, representing a 1.2 per cent increase from 28,877 in 2023. But the five-year average for citizen births between 2020 and 2024 was 30,400, lower than the 32,900 average in the preceding five years.
The resident total fertility rate remained unchanged at 0.97 in 2024, matching the 2023 figure. The median age of citizen mothers at first birth rose to 31.6 years in 2024, up from 30.3 years in 2014.
Shrinking families
Singaporean families are becoming smaller. Between 2004 and 2024, the share of citizen ever-married females aged 40 to 49 without children increased to 14.4 per cent, from 6.7 per cent, while those with one child rose to 22.8 per cent, from 15.9 per cent.
Within the same period, the proportion of these women with three or more children decreased significantly to 20.6 per cent, from 34.5 per cent.
The report noted that decisions to marry and have children are “deeply personal”, influenced by changing societal norms, individual priorities, and factors such as the costs of raising children, work-life balance concerns and expectations around parenting.
Yet aspirations to marry and have children remain strong. Based on the 2021 Marriage and Parenthood Survey, 80 per cent of young Singaporeans said they intend to marry, while more than a third of married couples aspired to have three or more children.
