--- description: “Now is as good a time as any for young couples to add a ‘little dragon’ to your family,” Singapore premier Lee Hsien Loong said during his annual Lunar New Year message. title: Singapore’s PM Urges Reproduction During Year of Dragon image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0efb4d1d77dca655/698a485c096a946dcc6af058/lee-hsien-loong-singapore.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Singapore](/tag/singapore/) ## Singapore Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Singapore’s Prime Minister Urges Citizens to Have More Babies During Year of the Dragon by [Yi Wei Wong / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Yi Wei Wong / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 9, 2024 3:30 AM CUT  Lee Hsien Loong speaks during an interview at a Bloomberg gala in Singapore on Nov. 8, 2023. Lee Hsien Loong speaks during an interview at a Bloomberg gala in Singapore on Nov. 8, 2023.Lionel Ng—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Yi Wei Wong / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Yi Wei Wong / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 9, 2024 3:30 AM CUT Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged young couples to have more babies as the city state battles with a declining birth rate. “Now is as good a time as any for young couples to add a ‘little dragon’ to your family,” the premier said in his annual [Lunar New Year](https://time.com/6248736/lunar-new-year-celebrations/ "undefined") message. The lunar year of the dragon starts Feb. 10. **Read More:** [_Why the Dragon Is a Big Deal in Chinese Culture_](https://time.com/6691804/china-dragons-symbolism-history-significance-new-year/ "undefined") The dragon is a “symbol of power, strength and good fortune,” Lee said, while acknowledging that having a baby is a personal decision. Singapore eased egg freezing rules and doubled government-paid paternity leave to four weeks after its birth rate dropped to a record low of 1.05 babies per woman in 2022\. Countries including [South Korea](https://time.com/6265842/south-korea-birth-rate-military-service-exemption/ "undefined"), [China](https://time.com/6306151/china-low-fertility-trap-birth-rate-policies/ "undefined") and Japan have also been battling falling fertility rates and an aging population. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6693126/singapore-dragon-year-babies-prime-minister/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6693126/singapore-dragon-year-babies-prime-minister/"},"headline":"Singapore’s Prime Minister Urges Citizens to Have More Babies During Year of the Dragon","datePublished":"2024-02-09T03:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:06:19.988Z","description":"“Now is as good a time as any for young couples to add a ‘little dragon’ to your family,” Singapore premier Lee Hsien Loong said during his annual Lunar New Year message.","url":"https://time.com/6693126/singapore-dragon-year-babies-prime-minister/","keywords":["Singapore","wire","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0efb4d1d77dca655/698a485c096a946dcc6af058/lee-hsien-loong-singapore.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Yi Wei Wong / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0efb4d1d77dca655/698a485c096a946dcc6af058/lee-hsien-loong-singapore.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong","caption":"Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong","creditText":"Lionel Ng—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/singapore/","name":"Singapore"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6693126/singapore-dragon-year-babies-prime-minister/","name":"Singapore’s Prime Minister Urges Citizens to Have More Babies During Year of the Dragon"}}]}] ```