http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/22/focus/7841290&sec=focus
Low procreation is a real threat in Singapore with the footloose and fancy-free young reluctant to sacrifice their comfortable way of life and leisure time to bring up the next generation.
TWO eye-catching headlines this past week read: “One million residents – or one in three – are single” and “Fertility rate sank to lowest in history”.
They may sound alarming but are just an update of Singapore’s long-term demographic plight, which appears to be deteriorating sharply despite a strong economic surge.
Well, I'm close to 30 and I look around to see most of my peers either unattached or unmarried. If I were to give a figure, I'll estimate the marriage percentage to be below 20% for those 30 & below, even less so for those with kids.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with most of the article. For me, the biggest obstacle to having a kid is the difficulty in obtaining a house. When I tried to get a flat in 2009, there was no longer any new flats through the Half-Yearly sales. Only BTO & Resale flats were viable options. 1 can only imagine how much harm is done when a couple has to wait for 4 - 6 years for a flat.
A couple of years ago, the government had stated that they've stopped building new flats, and switched to a BTO model (so that they won't have over-supply of flats). Its a very poor move that result in flat prices escalating at alarming rates, and also severely limits the supply of ready flats for a couple. Even now, the government still don't get it and persist with their BTO strategy.
Well, our birth rate will continue to decline until citizens get ready supply flats at affordable prices. It doesn't take a genius to figure out... I hope our government are at least capable of figuring out the cause.