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* Sunday, April 15, 2007 *

When we talk about births and deaths, the issue related would be life expectancy. According to a source, life expectancy is defined as the probable number of years remaining in the life of an individual or class of persons, affected by such factors as heredity(genetics), physical conditions, nutrition, and occupation. In the context of Singapore, we are not as concerned today as compared to the 1980s about life expectancy. An average Singaporean can live up to 82 years old. Due to advancements in medical sciences, life expectancy at birth is not a pressing issue.On the contrary, infant mortality rates are decreased and people are living up to ripe old ages .Yet birth rates remain at a low point.

In my opinion,one of the attributing problem would be the pursuit of career interests over family needs. A larger proportion of women are opting for a successful career than to get married and have children. Then the pressing problem we face would be lower birth rates, meaning a lower replacement rate and inevitably leading to a smaller workforce in time to come. Singapore's fertility rate is 1.06 children born per woman (in 2006), which is one of the lowest in the world. Prior to the "baby boom"period after World War 2, there was a surge in the population levels. To support these people born during the post war period who will form the ageing population in years to come, the workforce has to expand instead of becoming smaller. The strain is on the working population who may have to pay more taxes to help provide the services and facilities required by the senior citizens.

Currently, the goverment is encouraging couples to have children through various schemes, such as income tax reliefs given to the first to the fourth child, paid maternity leaves and housing subsidies. The situation has turned for the better and we are seeing a gradual rise in birth rates. Still, it pales in comparison to what Singapore experienced before and it would take time for the perceptions of people to change once again and be convinced to have more children.

By wei zhang

i am who i am
9:36 PM