Fewer but more stable marriages in S'pore in 2025: MSF survey

Recent cohorts of married couples in Singapore have greater stability, but there has been 6.2 per cent fewer marriages in 2025 compared to 2024, a family trends survey by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) found.

More stable marriages

According to a Jul. 10 media release by MSF, the cumulative proportion of marriages that ended in divorce before the 10th anniversary dipped from 17 per cent in the 2005 marriage cohort to 13.5 per cent for the 2014 cohort.

The 10th year anniversaries were used as a benchmark as data have shown marriages are most vulnerable between the five and 10-year marks.

According to the survey, a vast majority of Singaporeans reported strong and fulfilling relationships.

Some 94.9 per cent of married Singaporeans reported being happy with their marriage.

About 92.8 per cent felt that their relationship was going well and 78.3 per cent said they frequently confide in their spouse.

Some 88.3 per cent of respondents said they rarely or never considered ending their marriage.

Family resilience

There was also a correlation between higher marital quality and higher family resilience, the study showed.

On the resilience scale, 90.7 per cent of families reported moderate to high family resilience scores, an increase from 85.9 per cent in 2023.

Some 89.6 per cent of respondents also reported having a close-knit family, up from 86 per cent in 2023.

Furthermore, 69 per cent of Singaporeans said they maintained close ties with their extended family in 2025, up from 67.5 per cent in 2023.

Respondents who reported having close-knit families also reported higher family resilience, the survey found.

Some 95.2 per cent of respondents between 15 and 64 years of age agreed it was their responsibility to care for their parents, an increase from 93.1 per cent in 2023.

Those who were willing to support family members, either financially, emotionally or physically, tended to report higher family resilience.

About 92.2 per cent of caregivers said they were able to manage their caregiving responsibilities.

Caregiving by fathers

It was also found that more fathers are involved in caring for their children.

There was a notable increase in take-up rates of government-paid paternity leave, from 47 per cent for children born in 2016 to 61 per cent for children born in 2024.

About 54 per cent of fathers also took childcare leave in 2024, up from 49 per cent in 2016.

Uptake of government-paid maternity leave, meanwhile, remained consistently high between 74 and 79 per cent.

Since Apr. 1, shared parental leave provisions have been increased from six weeks to 10 weeks.

Early childhood

MSF said it continues to expand the capacity of and make preschools more affordable for families with young children.

Through subsidies and fee caps introduced in 2025, the industry median infant care fee for Singaporean children decreased from S$1,275 in 2021 to S$1,235 in 2025.

Childcare fee also decreased from S$760 in 2021 to S$680 in 2025.

The number of full-day infant care centres has also nearly tripled over the past 10 years, while the number of full-day childcare places has nearly doubled.

As such, the cohort enrolment rate of children aged three to four years has risen from 73 per cent in 2015 to 91 per cent in 2025.

Enrolment of children aged five to six years old has also increased from 86 per cent in 2015 to 93 per cent in 2025.

Support for families

The results from the annual survey highlight the importance of support for families, said MSF.

Speaking during the 2026 National Family Festival Appreciation Event on Jul. 10, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said the ministry would be signing several memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with key corporate partners, including Mandai Wildlife Group and NTUC Women and Family.

The partnerships and collaborations will contribute towards promoting family-friendly campaigns and drive family-focused programmes.