Chapter 6 · Families

Marriage & Fertility

28.7%

Single Malay men aged 30 to 39 (2025)

up from 24.7% in 2020

16.5%

Single Malay women aged 30 to 39 (2025)

slightly down from 17.2% in 2020

2.27

Average children born

per ever-married Malay female (2025), highest among major ethnic groups

Singlehood at ages 30 to 39

Malay women aged 30 to 39 are the only group in Singapore (across ethnicity and sex) whose singlehood rate did not rise between 2020 and 2025, per the GHS report.

Shares of all Malay residents in that age group and sex; bars drawn on a 0 to 100% scale. Grey counts = number of single persons.

Sources: DOS GHS 2025 tables 8, 11, 52 and GHS 2025 report Ch.1 (quoted figures); Census 2020 table 12. 2020 singlehood derived from published counts (±0.2pp).

Children born to ever-married Malay females 15+

About half of ever-married Malay women (49.3%) have 2 or 3 children; the average of 2.27 is the highest among major ethnic groups.

Total: 100.1% (may differ from 100.0% by up to ±0.2pp because DOS rounds counts to the nearest 100)

Sources: DOS GHS 2025 tables 8, 11, 52 and GHS 2025 report Ch.1 (quoted figures); Census 2020 table 12. 2020 singlehood derived from published counts (±0.2pp).

Singlehood among Malays remains well below Chinese residents. 10.2% of Malay-headed households include members of more than one ethnic group.