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SINGAPORE – Marriage and parenthood are expected to feature significantly in the 2026 National Day Rally, analysts said, as family formation becomes an increasingly important issue for Singapore’s long-term social and economic sustainability amid a very low fertility rate.
Rather than persuade people to have more children, the Rally is likely to focus on how starting families can become more compatible with people’s aspirations, they added.
In his National Day Message, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said a major review was under way on how families here are supported across various life stages – not only at the point of marriage and parenthood, but also throughout life’s journey.
He said that more details on plans to help parents with the costs of raising children will be provided in his Rally speech on Aug 23.
Institute of Policy Studies senior research fellow Kalpana Vignehsa said PM Wong’s reference to a “major review” suggests that he could announce a broader reconsideration of how families are supported across the life course, rather than a further fertility incentive.
This could mean looking at the costs of caring for children more as social infrastructure rather than a private family obligation, she said, noting that childcare is not a one-off expense.
“Rather, it is an ongoing infrastructure that determines whether parents can participate in the labour market and how much of the caregiving burden falls on families themselves,” she said.
Singapore Management University associate professor of law Eugene Tan said Singapore’s persistently low total fertility rate has been a longstanding existential challenge for the country. The Republic’s resident total fertility rate fell to a low of 0.87 in 2025.
Focusing on the issue at the Rally, the biggest political speech of the year, underscores that the Government is not giving up on building the Singapore core, even as the country will have to rely on immigration to make up the shortfall in resident births, said Tan.
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