Monday, April 25, 2005
The Reason Why Singapore Has A Birth Rate Problem
Singapore has a birth rate problem.According to Singstat, the crude birth rate of Singapore is 10.1 per 1000 population. One of the lowest in the world, it appears in the top 20 of the world's least 'productive' nations.
[EDIT = 27/4/05] According to the CIA International Factbook, Singapore's birth rate is 9.63 per 1000 population. That is quite a lot less than 10.1, you know. [/EDIT]
However, strangely enough, the country produces Viagra.
Now that's kinda contradictory, isn't it? On one hand, it manufactures a line of pills that solves eretile dysfunction, on the other, few babies are popping out every year.
Something is amiss...
Maybe it has got something to do with the price of the fashionable blue pill; around S$10 to S$15 a pop (I'm not sure, but in Malaysia, it's RM38). Taking into account the 'kiasu' (literally "afraid to lose") culture omnipresent in Singaporeans, it's no wonder that majority of males who have lost their magic would rather keep their wands hidden and wallets filled.
Personally, I'd be more "afraid to lose" my manhood than cash. Apparently, middle-aged Singaporean men don't think along the same lines as I do, hence the problem in the first place.
DISCLAIMER: This has been written in jest and may not reflect the current situation in Singapore. However, the country does indeed have a birth rate problem. Not my fault, in any case.
