Live births in S'pore fall below 30,000 for 1st time in 2025, cancer & heart disease leading causes of death

There were 29,864 live births and 26,499 deaths recorded in Singapore in 2025.

This gives rise to a natural increase of 3,365, down from 7,261 in 2024.

This is the first time recorded live births have fallen below 30,000, according to data available on SingStat which dates back to 1960, before independence.

Compared to 2024 figures, the number of live births has gone down, while the number of recorded deaths has gone up slightly.

The 2025 numbers were reported in the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's (ICA) annual Report on Registration of Births and Deaths, released on Jul. 27, 2026.

Births

Compared to 33,703 live births in 2024, the number of live births in 2025 was 11.4 per cent fewer.

Of the 29,684 live births in 2025, 26,071 were citizen live births, where at least one parent is a Singapore citizen.

Including births where at least one parent is a Singapore citizen or permanent resident, or resident live births, the number increases to 27,393.

2,471 were non-resident live births, whose parents are neither Singapore citizens nor permanent residents.

The median age of first-time mothers in 2025 has gone up slightly to 32.1 from 31.9 in 2024.

The median age of mothers giving birth to their second or subsequent child has also shown a gradual upward trend over the same period

There were 258 single-parent birth registrations in 2025, down from 330 in 2024.

Ethnic groups

Out of the total newborns in 2025, Chinese newborns accounted for 56.6 per cent, Malays for 22.5 per cent, Indians for 11.5 per cent, and other ethnic groups for 9.4 per cent.

The crude birth rate, or live births per 1,000 Singapore residents, remained highest among Malays at 11.8, although there had been a dip from 12.1 in 2024.

This is followed by Indians at 7.3 and Chinese at 5.3.

Deaths

There were 26,499 registered deaths in 2025, with the median age at death being 78.2 years.

The median age of death for females was 82.5 years, compared to 75.7 for males.

In 2024, there were 26,442 registered deaths.

Cancer, heart disease among leading causes of death

Based on provisional data, the leading causes of death in 2025 were cancer and heart and high blood pressure diseases.

Together, such diseases accounted for 52.1 per cent of all registered deaths.

Male mortality in 2025 surpassed female mortality with a ratio of 1,194 per 1,000 female deaths.

Males had a higher proportion of deaths attributed to heart and high blood pressure diseases, as well as accidents.

Females exhibited a higher proportion of deaths associated with kidney and disorders of the urinary system and cerebrovascular disease.

Cerebrovascular disease refers to conditions that affect blood flow to the brain, such as stroke.

Suicides

The number of suicides in 2025 stood at 256, according to provisional data.

The finalised figure for the number of suicides in 2024 was 441, up from the provisional 314 recorded in last year's report, which was released in July 2025.

There were more male suicides than female suicides in both 2024 and 2025.