Demographics

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Could Singapore government consider providing financial assistance for egg freezing?

There are different ways the state can support women in pursuing this elective procedure

Not all who choose not to have children are responding to the same constraints, say the writers.

Fertility is not a ‘single problem’

If the reasons for not having children are varied, the policy response must be too

The low birth rate among residents and an ageing population pose challenges for the private housing market.
THE LEVEL GROUND

Migrants key to Singapore private housing’s long-term health amid low births

More foreigners becoming PRs and citizens can support demand for private homes

If children generate positive externalities – fiscal, social and strategic – then public co-investment should mirror that reality across the life cycle.
THINKING ALOUD

Children are national assets. Our support must reflect that

A case for treating children as Singapore’s long-term equity

The question is not whether technology replaces human care, but whether it can stand in when human presence is absent.
THINKING ALOUD

Growing old alone with technology as the last quiet witness

For seniors who live alone, being ‘tracked’ is less about surveillance than being accounted for

A robotic system supports archaeologists' work in Pompeii, Italy. There are signs that AI is raising output per worker, which could lower overall demand for human labour.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Why people still matter in the AI era

As population decline accelerates, the big risk is labour shortages, not mass unemployment

After a quiet removal from Chinese app stores, "Are You Dead" has been launched internationally as "Demumu".

Forget DeepSeek, dying alone is China’s latest tech obsession

The new breakout app that asks ‘Are you dead?’ says much about society

Chinese tourists at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo. Arrivals from China to Japan have been depressed in the wake of a recent diplomatic spat.

Why is Japan souring on foreign workers and tourists?

It is a dangerous attitude for an ageing country that needs more immigrants

By 2023, China already had 217 million people aged 65 and over, or about 14% of the population.

A great wealth transfer is happening in China

In some parts of the country, retirees are the richest while Gen X and millennials are struggling

Though the number of people is still rising, the fertility rate has been plummeting. And not just in the rich world: Two-thirds of people now live in countries where it is below the “replacement rate” of 2.1.
THE BROAD VIEW

Don’t panic about the global fertility crash

A world with fewer people would not be all bad