Signapore's birth rate continue to fall
Singapore's birth rate has just hit a record low in 2022, after years of consistent decline. Live births last year plummeted by 7.9%, with birth rates hovering around 1.1 per woman. That's mainly due to how expensive it is to live in Singapore, steering many away from expanding their family. The city-state is also grappling with an aging population, something that has prompted the government to introduce bonuses to encourage people to have children. Couples with babies born from Feb. 14 will receive $8,000 each for their first and second child, and government-paid paternity leave was doubled, increasing from two to four weeks for fathers of babies born from 2024. Meanwhile, Singapore's annual exports fell for an 11th straight month in August as the trade-reliant economy continues to grapple with global headwinds on inflation and declining demand.