Is marriage just another high-risk investment?

[SINGAPORE] There were 29,237 citizen births in 2024, 1.2 per cent more than the 28,877 citizen births in the previous year. An uptick was to be expected, given that it was the Year of the Dragon, but it was relatively small. 

There is even less cause for optimism if one looks at the marriage statistics. In 2024, there were 22,955 citizen marriages, 5.7 per cent lower than the 24,355 citizen marriages in 2023. The average number of citizen marriages per year in the last five years (23,000) was lower than in the preceding five years (23,600). 

This downward trend in marriages is seen elsewhere, too. Statistics Sweden, for example, reported a 16 per cent decline from the pre-pandemic average. However, where other societies may see a rise in cohabitation and births outside of marriage, Singapore’s social norms are still evolving.