SINGAPORE – Only one in 10 young adults surveyed in Singapore knew the answers to basic fertility questions, despite more than half believing they were well-informed about fertility and reproductive health.
The knowledge gap was also evident among those who want to become parents. Among childless respondents who said having children one day was important to them, 43% answered two or fewer of five questions on fertility literacy correctly.
Most respondents in the Thomson Medical-National University of Singapore study aspired to be parents, with 84% saying they ideally wanted at least one child. About half, or 51%, said their ideal family would have two children, while 16% did not want any children.
The inaugural study polled 1,035 people in June 2026 on their parenthood aspirations, reproductive timing and fertility knowledge. It was led by Reuben Ng, the study’s principal investigator from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP).
The respondents, aged 18 to 39, were also asked about their awareness or attitudes towards fertility services.
The average age of respondents was 28.8 years old, and 87% of them were Singapore citizens.
The findings, which were released on Oct 1 at a media briefing, found that while most respondents understood broadly that fertility declines with age, there were gaps in their knowledge of reproductive health.
Four in five knew that a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant naturally decrease as she gets older, while 75% knew that it generally becomes more difficult for both men and women to conceive naturally as they age.
But only 29% knew that ovaries do not continue to produce new eggs throughout a woman’s reproductive years. About 40% answered this incorrectly, while another 30% were unsure.
While 57% correctly identified that men’s fertility declines with age, 19% thought otherwise and another 24% were unsure.
These findings come ahead of a full report by the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup expected to be ready in early 2027. The inter-agency work group, chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, was set up to address issues affecting the country’s birth rate, including areas like fertility support.
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