SINGAPORE--Singapore has unveiled measures to combat a long-declining birthrate that threatens to squeeze its economic growth.

Like many advanced economies, the city-state's demographics don't bode well for future growth. As its population ages, a shrinking pool of workers is supporting a growing number of retirees.

Once entrenched, a low birthrate is difficult to reverse. Increasing immigration can help ease the pressure but it is a politically sensitive avenue to pursue.

Singapore's plan is to bolster financial and social support for families while remaining open to foreign workers, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said Sunday.

Among the measures announced to boost a fertility rate that hit a record low in 2025 is direct financial support of nearly 70,000 Singapore dollars, equivalent to roughly US$55,000, for every Singaporean child. The package will be available to all Singaporean children born in or turning 1 to 17 in 2026, with the amount of funds received based on their corresponding age this year.

Under the measures, parents will receive a gift of S$10,000 for every newborn, to be disbursed in two tranches. Children will also continue to receive S$2,000 in annual credits until they turn 16, along with grants for education and child development.

Singapore also intends to raise the amount of paid leave parents can claim for childcare, said Wong. The government will cover the cost of statutory child-related leave up to a certain limit, reducing the financial burden on employers, he added.

The government will also continue to manage the size of Singapore's foreign workforce, he said.

"We welcome foreign manpower to complement our local workforce and support our economy. But we do so in a careful and controlled way," said Wong.

For UOB's Suan Teck Kin, the new measures represent a shift to providing sustained assistance throughout the child-raising process from a focus on childbirth.

On the below-replacement fertility rates, the message is clear: labor scarcity should be treated as a structural feature of Singapore's operating environment, the head of research said.

With labor-force growth slowing and no broad easing of foreign-worker policies, he expects automation, autonomous transport and workforce redesign to become increasingly important.

"Future growth will become more technology-, productivity- and capital-intensive," Suan said.

--Amanda Lee contributed to this article.