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Subject: Singapore takes in new immigrants to keep population numbers steady, but must manage the inflow carefully, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday
Excerpt: English text from the archived bilingual edition · Chinese edition
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Singapore takes in new immigrants to keep population numbers steady, but must manage the inflow carefully, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday
The people who come must be able to integrate into society, have the abilities and skills to contribute to the economy and have their hearts in the right place, he added at a citizenship ceremony at Townsville Primary School
About 20,000 people become new citizens here every year.Together with the 30,000 Singaporean babies born, this adds 50,000 to Singapore’s citizen population each year
This allows Singapore to have a stable population, as Singaporeans are far from replacing themselves with a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.3, said Mr Lee
The TFR measures the average number of children per woman, and needs to be at least 2.1 for the population to replace itself
Mr Lee said ideally, more Singaporean babies should be born, so the Government has worked to support young families through marriage and parenthood policies
Over the years, schemes have been launched in the areas of housing, pre-school services, workplace and community support to encourage people to start families
Singapore University of Social Sciences sociologist Kang Soon-Hock said enough time must be given for policy enhancements to take effect
In the meantime, maintaining a stable population is needed to stave off labour shortages as the population ages and there are fewer working-age people
National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan said there is a limit to how much the TFR can be pushed up, so other strategies are needed to sustain population growth
For instance, making Singapore an attractive destination for talented residents, so the country can "pick and attract people who can bring the best to Singapore"
Mr Lee, an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, presented 150 new citizens with their citizenship certificates and identity cards
"When you take up Singapore citizenship, you are not just becoming a resident of this island or a worker. You are committing your loyalty to Singapore, pledging yourself to fulfil the responsibilities of a citizen," he said as he congratulated them
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