SINGAPORE is offering to pay parents a whopping £40,000 per child in a desperate bid to boost the country’s plummeting birth rates.

The major measure has been announced by the government to try and persuade young people to start a family after registered a record-low fertility rate last year.

Daily Life In Singapore Amid The Coronavirus PandemicSingapore is offering to pay parents a whopping £40,000 per child in a desperate bid to boost the country’s plummeting birth rates Credit: Getty (250504) -- SINGAPORE, May 4, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (2nd R) waves to supporters of the People's Action Party (PAP) after the party has secured a simple majority in the general election, at Singapore's Yio Chu KangLawrence Wong, right, the city- state’s prime minister, said the total funding would be around 70,000 Singaporean dollars or £40,000. Credit: Alamy

Lawrence Wong, the city- state’s prime minister, said the total funding would be around 70,000 Singaporean dollars or £40,000.

The payment would not be a one-time deal at birth but rather paid in installments up until the child reaches the age of 17.

An initial reward of S$10,000 (£7,300) would be handed out as a “baby gift” with a similarly valued incentive awarded for completing higher education at the age of 17.

Education, and child support grants would also be available to new parents as well as reduced nursery care fees for pre-school children.

Childcare leave will be increased with its cost fully covered by the government, rather than employers.

Companies currently have to pay for childcare with the only partially reimbursed.

Families applying for government-subsidised flats will also have an increased chance of winning allocation ballots for each additional child.

Wong hopes it will mark “a fundamental shift in how we support families”.

School Children Crossing a StreetFamilies applying for government-subsidised flats will also have an increased chance of winning allocation ballots for each additional child Credit: Getty

How China will crumble as world superpower with population to crash by BILLION in decades

CHINA’S superpower status could soon crumble – with its population on track to plummet by over a billion in the coming decades.

‘s regime is set to be exposed on the world stage as years of deceit, inflated numbers and worrying demographic shifts finally take their toll, experts warn.

Worrying statistics show that the population could drop from 1.4billion to 390 million in less than 75 year if China’s birth rates continue to plunge as death rates surge at their current rate.

As of early 2026, China claims to have over 1.4 billion residents, per official national records.

But Yi Fuxian, a leading critic of ‘s one-child policy, and many demographers believe this figure is on track to rapidly drop due to the high number of elderly Chinese citizens and falling birth rates.

As of 2026, the median age in China is around 40-years-old with an estimated 15 per cent of citizens being over 65-years-old.

These figures are around the average for a major . But below the surface, the figures are a cause for concern.

China recorded a historic low in births in 2024, sitting at only 7.92 million – the lowest since 1939.

Back then the population sat at just over 500 million.

China also has one of the lowest rates in the world, at around just – far below the average replacement rate of 2.1 per woman.

Declining births is a trend which has in China – with little sign of improving in the near future.

In a chilling prediction, Yi says: “Assuming China is lucky enough to stabilise its fertility rate at 1.0, its population will fall to 1.06 billion in 2050 and 390 million in 2100.”

Read more .

He said: “Today, families everywhere are under growing pressure.

“We want every family to know: if you choose to have children, the government will stand with you.

“We will provide more support, and over more years.”

Worrying statistics show that Singapore, along with several other Asian countries, are facing a demographic crisis.

A survey of nearly 500 Singaporean adults aged 18-44 found that almost a quarter have no plans to have children, according to a YouGov poll.

In the same survey, 30 per cent said there was nothing the government could do to make them want children.

Singapore, with a population of just over six million, registered a rate of 0.87 children per woman last year.

This was down from 0.97 in 2024 and closing in on South Korea’s world-lowest rate of 0.8.

Experts believe a fertility rate of 2.1 is required to maintain a stable population.

Another major issue is Singapore’s ageing population.

One in four Singaporeans are expected to be aged over 65 by 2030.

This would categorise them as “super-aged” by the .

An older civilisation paired with young adults not wanting children could have dire consequences.

Wong continued: “Despite all that we do to support families, we have to be realistic.

“Our total fertility rate is still likely to fall far short of replacement.

“If we relied only on births, our citizen population will shrink. We would age more rapidly.

“And there would be fewer younger Singaporeans to support a growing number of seniors.”