Hanoi (VNA), Feb. 28 -- Preliminary estimates indicated that the total fertility rate in Singapore dropped below one for the first time to 0.97 in 2023, said Indranee Rajah, Singaporean Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Speaking before the country's Parliament on February 28, she said that Singapore recorded 26,500 resident marriages and 30,500 resident births during the year.

Indranee noted that fewer Singaporeans married and gave birth to babies annually on average over the last five years compared to the preceding five-year period.

She gave reasons for the falling fertility rate in Singapore, such as the COVID-19 pandemic delaying some couples' marriage and parenthood plans, the financial cost pressure of raising childr...