The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has released its Family Trends Report 2025. The Family Trends Report provides annual updates on key statistical family trends in Singapore and tracks our progress towards a Singapore Made for Families.
Marriage and Family Formation Remain Stable
2 There were fewer marriages in 2024, 7.0% lower than the marriages registered in 2023. In terms of marriage stability, recent marriage cohorts from 2006 to 2013 show greater stability, compared to the 2005 cohort. The cumulative proportion of marriages that dissolved before the 10th anniversary declined from 17.0% for the 2005 marriage cohort to 14.4% for the 2013 marriage cohort.
3 The take-up rates of Government-Paid Paternity Leave remained stable at over 50% in recent years while the take-up of Government-Paid Maternity Leave over the years continue to remain high, ranging from 74% to 79%. We encourage both mothers and fathers to use the parental leave provisions, including up to additional 6 weeks of paid shared parental leave, to bond with their children and share the parenthood journey together.
4 In the workplace, more employers and co-workers are offering flexibility to help working parents balance their caregiving needs with their career aspirations. The number of employees who have access to flexible work arrangements that they required increased from 84.1% in 2022 to 87.0% in 2023.
Greater access to affordable early childhood education and support for developmental needs
5 For families with young children, we continue to expand access to affordable and quality preschools to provide every child with a good start in life. Over the past ten years, the number of full-day infant care places nearly tripled, and the number of full-day childcare places nearly doubled. More children are enrolled in preschools, with the cohort enrolment rate (CER) of children aged 3 to 4 years increasing from 76% in 2014 to 90% in 2024. The CER of children aged 5 to 6 years also increased slightly over the last 10 years from 91% in 2014 to 93% in 2024.
6 The Government has also kept preschools affordable by providing subsidies for Singapore Citizen children and imposing fee caps over the years at Anchor Operator (AOP) and Partner Operator (POP) preschools. Full-day childcare fee caps at AOPs and POPs have been progressively lowered from January 2023. For Singapore Citizen children, the industry median infant care fee decreased from $1,275 in 2020 to $1,235 in 2024, and the industry median childcare fee decreased from $800 in 2020 to $720 in 2024. The full-day childcare fee caps at AOPs and POPs have lowered by $40 since January this year, and will be further lowered by $30 in 2026.
7 Support for young children with developmental needs has also increased. ECDA has ramped up provision of support for children with medium to high level of early intervention needs by rapidly expanding capacity in current early intervention centres. In 2024, about 1,500 places were added, increasing capacity by 26% from 2023. In the same year, ECDA also launched the EIPIC-Care pilot, a training programme to equip caregivers of 2- to 3-year-olds with development needs to support their child’s development at home.
Family Resilience and Focus on Intergenerational Ties
8 Parents of children and youth are resilient and have the capacity to tide through challenges together. Based on a study conducted by National Council of Social Service (NCSS) in 2024, 9 in 10 parents reported moderate to high family resilience. Parents who reported higher family resilience also reported higher quality of life scores.
9 Elderly residents feel supported by their family. Based on another NCSS study conducted in 2024, 62.0% of respondents aged 65 years and above reported that they were satisfied with the support they receive from their family, and 62.3% were happy with their relationship with their family members. Intergenerational ties are also important to families. An MSF survey on families in 2023 found that 90.4% agreed that it is important for grandparents and their grandchildren to maintain close ties with one another.
Continued Support for Families
10 Strong families are the foundation of our society. The Government continues to make enhancements, strengthening our ecosystem of support to ensure that Singapore remains a great place to raise families, live life to the fullest and age gracefully.
11 The Family Trends report can be found on the MSF website at: https://go.gov.sg/familytrends2025.
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