Married without kids? It's becoming a lot more common in Singapore

Reasons include lifestyle preferences, fear of immense responsibility of raising children

- Theresa Tan

As a teenager, Ms Tan knew she did not want to have children.

The 49-year-old professional, who declined to give her full name, said: "Having a child is a huge responsibility, and I don't want to be responsible for another life and how they turn out.

"I also value my freedom a lot, and the ability to live my life the way that I want."

Like her, a growing number of married women are remaining childless at the end of their childbearing years — either by choice or not.

On Feb 18, the Department of Statistics released figures showing that in 2024, 15 per cent of resident ever-married women aged between 40 and 49 have no children. This is double the 7.1 per cent in 2004.

In 2014, the figure was 11.2 per cent. Ever-married refers to those who are currently married, divorced or widowed, while residents refer to Singaporeans and permanent residents.

Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) senior research fellow Tan Poh Lin described the increase in the proportion of childless couples as "very rapid".

The latest statistics come amid a push by the Government to support large families - defined as those with three or more children — and spur Singaporeans to have more babies.

In his Budget speech on Feb 18, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that families will get up to $16,000 in additional support for each third and subsequent Singaporean child born on or after Feb 18, as part of the new Large Families Scheme.

For the couples interviewed by The Sunday Times, the decision not to have children was due to lifestyle preferences, negative childhood experiences and the fear of the immense responsibility of raising children, among other reasons.

For example, Ms Tan and her husband, a professional who is a few years older than her, enjoy travelling and "exploring life". She said that having children would restrict the things they are able to do, such as going on holidays at a short notice.