Integrating newcomers amid rising immigration in baby-scarce Singapore

When musician Ma Huan came to Singapore in 2010 to join the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, she discovered that adapting to a new culture came with unexpected lessons.

- Theresa Tan Senior Social Affairs Correspondent Chin Soo Fang Senior Correspondent Megan Wee

Growing up in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, lively conversations were the norm. However, her Singaporean colleagues gently advised the yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer) player to lower her speaking volume, as diners at a hawker centre were looking at her.

That moment was one of many that helped the 42-year-old, who holds a master's degree from the elite China Conservatory of Music, understand local social norms.

Her family is now settled here.

Ms Ma, now the vice-chairwoman of the Singapore Yangqin Association, became a Singapore citizen in 2023, together with her 11-year-old daughter. Her husband, a Chinese national working as a sales executive, obtained permanent residency in 2024 and moved over from Beijing.

More immigrants are expected to call Singapore home in the coming years as the birth rate plunges and its population ages rapidly.

With new projected inflow numbers announced in Parliament recently, the Government has also stressed the need to integrate newcomers, whether through structured programmes or community and individual efforts.

On Feb 26, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said Singapore's preliminary total fertility rate fell to a record low of 0.87 in 2025, and he warned that the citizen population could start shrinking by the early 2040s without new interventions.

DPM Gan committed to continued support for Singaporeans to start families - which he described as a "top priority" - but also laid out a plan for "carefully managed immigration flow" to augment the dismal birth rate.

Depending on demographic trends, the Government expects to grant 25,000 to 30,000 new citizenships annually over the next five years - which means from 17 per cent to 41 per cent more than the average of 21,300 new citizenships granted annually between 2020 and 2024.