Published on 15 July 2024
The Ministry of Social and Family Development has released its inaugural Family Trends Report. It is an update on key statistical family trends in Singapore and our progress in creating a Singapore Made for Families.
Marriage and Family Formation
2 There were slightly fewer marriages in 2023, 3.7% lower than the record high of marriages registered in 2022. Based on a 5-year moving average which helps to smooth out year-on-year fluctuations and provide a clearer direction of the trend, we observed that the moving average trend for marriages is stable overall.
3 Among ever-married resident females aged 40 to 49 years, those with two children continued to form the largest group at 44.0% in 2023.
4 More fathers are involved in caring for their children, as take-up rates of Government-Paid Paternity Leave increased from 47% for children born in 2016 to 53% for children born in 2021.
5 More employers and co-workers are also offering flexibility to help working parents balance their childcare needs with their career aspirations. The number of employees who have access to flexible work arrangements that they required increased over the past ten years, from 65.9% in 2014 to 84.1% in 2022.
Early Childhood
6 For families with young children, access to affordable and quality preschools has been expanded to provide every child with a good start in life. To cater to growing demand, the number of full-day infant care places nearly tripled, and the number of full-day childcare places more than doubled over the past ten years. More children are enrolled in preschools, with the cohort enrolment rate (CER) of children aged 3 to 4 years increasing from 75% in 2013 to 90% in 2023. The CER of children aged 5 to 6 years also remained high at 95% in 2023.
7 The Government has ensured that preschool remains affordable by providing subsidies to parents of Singapore Citizen children, and imposing fee caps at Government-supported Anchor Operator (AOP) and Partner Operator (POP) preschools. As a result, median full-day fees and out-of-pocket expenses for infant care and childcare have declined. For Singapore Citizen children, the industry median infant care fee decreased from $1,275 in 2019 to $1,235 in 2023, and the industry median childcare fee decreased from $800 in 2019 to $720 in 2023. A median-income household1 with a child attending full-day infant care in an AOP centre would spend 5.9% of their household income on preschool in 2023, compared to 7.5% in 2019. Similarly, a median-income household1 with a child attending full-day childcare in an AOP centre would spend 3.1% of their household income on preschool in 2023, compared to 4.6% in 2019.
8 For young children with developmental needs, the number of referrals for medium to high levels of early intervention support has increased due to greater parental awareness and earlier detection through hospitals’ child development programmes. The total number of children served in Early Intervention (EI) programmes more than doubled, from 3,824 in 2015 to 9,850 in 2023.
Family Ties, Resilience, and Marriage Stability
9 Most Singaporeans feel that their families are strong and resilient. Based on a survey conducted by MSF on families in 2023, 85.9% of families reported moderate to high2 family resilience scores, and 25.1% of all families reported high family resilience scores. The majority of survey respondents also reported having a close-knit family and maintained close ties with family members outside of their immediate family. Families who are resilient are better able to overcome challenges.
10 Families remain the first line of support for the majority of seniors. 82.5% of survey respondents aged 65 years and above reported that they would turn to their families for help when they need physical support such as caregiving or assistance with running errands. Majority of respondents aged 15 to 64 years (93.1%) agreed that it is their responsibility to take care of their parents.
11 Marriage stability has increased in more recent marriage cohorts. Marriage cohorts from 2006 have seen lower dissolution rates, compared to the 2005 cohort. We journey with every family across different life stages and uplift them through circumstances
12 As families journey through life, we have strengthened our support for families across different life stages:
a. The Journey with You (JoY) marriage mentoring initiative was expanded to more than 160 trained mentors to provide couples with valuable advice and resources as they navigate married life. For families who have made the difficult decision to divorce, MSF has extended the Mandatory Co-Parenting Programme (CPP) to divorcing couples with children under 21 years old to support them in making informed decisions that prioritise the well-being of their children.
b. Most new 3-room and larger Built-To-Order flats are set aside for first-timer families. HDB also introduced the First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples) applicant category to help married couples and parents with young children secure a flat faster. Eligible families who are awaiting flat completion can rent from HDB under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS), or tap on the one-year PPHS (Open Market) Voucher scheme.
c. Preschools will continue to be made more affordable, as we lower the fullday childcare fee caps for Singapore Citizen children at AOP and POP preschools. By 2026, dual-income families with a child in AOP full-day childcare will pay around the equivalent of primary school and student care fees, before means-tested subsidies. We have strengthened support for children with developmental needs, by expanding the capacity of early intervention centres and appointing new private providers for the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children-P (EIPIC-P). Early intervention services are made more affordable by lowering out-of-pocket expenses and extending transport subsidies. A three-year infant childminding pilot will be launched to grow childminding services to be an affordable, safe, and reliable caregiving option.
d. The upcoming Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests will cultivate a norm where employees feel that it is acceptable to request for and use flexible work arrangements, while acknowledging that employers continue to have the prerogative to decide on work arrangements.
e. In 2023, MOH, MND and MOT launched Age Well SG as the national programme to support seniors, including caregivers, to age actively, stay socially connected and be cared for within their communities.
14 Minister Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, said, “The Singapore Made For Families 2025 plan which we laid out in 2022, captures our shared commitment across the whole-of-society to create a Singapore that values and supports the well-being of families. As we strengthen the ecosystem of support around our families, it is important to better understand the state of families in Singapore. This allows all of us to see where we have done well, and where we can improve to build on our progress.”
15 The Family Trends report can be found on the MSF website at: https://go.gov.sg/familytrends2024. The progress update on the ‘A Singapore Made For Families 2025’ plan can be found in Annex A.
1 Income of the “median-income household” is derived based on ranking citizen households with at least one child aged 0-6, by their monthly household income from work, excluding employer CPF contributions.
2 Under Walsh’s Family Resilience Framework, family resilience is defined as the capacity of the family to recover from adversity, by emerging stronger and more resourceful, to manage stressful events and forge transformative personal and relational growth. Families with moderate-high resilience scored 3 and above (out of 5) on the Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire.
Annex A: Media Release - Family Trends Report