Marriage and parenthood rank low among markers of success for Singaporeans: Cultivate SG survey

What is the Singapore Dream? 

Ask any younger Singaporean and chances are their notion of success will be tied to character, contentment, community, career and contribution to society – less likely marriage and parenthood.

This was one of the key findings in a recently commissioned survey by Cultivate SG, a non-profit organisation that researches and dialogues on family issues in Singapore.

Reaching out to 2,019 Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, the survey was conducted by Pureprofile from August 22 to September 9, 2025 via an online questionnaire. 

The Marriage, Parenthood and Success Survey 2025 aimed to offer insights into the perspectives and attitudes of a nationally representative sample of Singaporeans aged 21 to 45, with a focus on that demographic as it is the mainstream age range for getting married and having children.

Sharing the findings yesterday at Cultivate’s Unfiltered: The Family on Trial Conference 2025, the non-profit observed that values and worldviews, including attitudes towards success, play a significant role in shaping people’s attitudes towards marriage and parenthood. This is in contrast to other factors such as how much money one has.

Using the term “marriage and parenthood orientation” (MPO), the survey classified respondents into three categories. This is the breakdown of the profiles. 

• High MPO (positive views of marriage and parenthood, expressing aspirations) – 33%
• Non-MPO (do not have positive views of marriage and parenthood, neither do they have aspirations) – 13%
• Moderate MPO (in between the earlier two categories) – 54%

Source: Marriage, Parenthood and Success Survey 2025

Interestingly, one’s religious worldviews or values have been found to impact a person’s MPO level.

• Non-MPO is most common among respondents with no religion.
• The non-religious are also least likely to be of High MPO.
• By contrast, Muslims and Hindus have the highest proportions of High MPO.

Source: Marriage, Parenthood and Success Survey 2025

In this article, we outline Cultivate’s key observations.

1. On marriage and parenthood, values matter 

The findings indicate that positive views of and aspirations towards marriage and parenthood strongly correlate with a range of other attitudes.

• People with High MPO are less likely to choose to delay marriage and parenthood.

Almost 1 in 2 (49%) Moderate MPO respondents choose or have chosen to delay marriage, which is much higher than the High MPO respondents (40%).

For those who choose not to delay parenthood, the figure is 56% for Moderate MPO respondents versus 65% for High MPO respondents.

• People with High MPO are also slightly more inclined to see marriage as a union where neither party sacrifices more.

Moderate MPO respondents are more likely to say wives will sacrifice more (42%) whereas High MPO respondents are least likely to say so (33%). 

Source: Marriage, Parenthood and Success Survey 2025

• People with High MPO are also more likely to consider being married and having children as markers of success.

Generally, respondents viewed “being an upright person”, “having work-life balance”, “being contented” and “being close to family” as the top markers of success. Notably, “being married” and “having children” were at the bottom of the list (12th and 14th respectively).

However, High MPO respondents tended to prioritise family relationships, being faithful in personal religion, being married and having children more significantly as markers of success.

Source: Marriage, Parenthood and Success Survey 2025

Drawing attention to the “MPO worldview”, the report emphasises that the differences across the Non-MPO and High MPO groups are the most striking.

High MPO respondents are nearly three times as likely as Non-MPO respondents to embrace marriage and parenthood as markers that define success in life. They are also significantly more likely to prize moral uprightness and social contribution. In contrast, those who highly value monetary wealth and travelling experiences are consistent markers of the Non-MPO group.

All of this indicates that a family- and virtue-based definition of life success is the strongest attitudinal mark of High MPO, whereas materialistic or self-focused ideals are associated with weaker MPO orientation, states the report. 

• People with High MPO are least impacted by factors that may discourage parenthood

The top three considerations that discourage parenthood are all related to finance (“high cost of raising children, “uncertainty about future income”, “unsure of ability to provide financially for children”).

But High MPO respondents are least impacted by all the considerations which discourage parenthood, while Non-MPO respondents rank these factors higher in impact.

Thus, the report summarises that it would appear that the desire for marriage and children depends more on worldview than wealth.

2. Deeper attitudes may underlie perceived cost of raising children

Although the “high cost of raising children” emerged as the top consideration discouraging respondents from parenthood, Cultivate’s findings hint at deeper attitudes.

When examined according to income levels, respondents earning less than S$2,001 a month tended to indicate the “high cost of raising children” with the greatest intensity.

However, the intensity gradually decreases when income rises, with the lowest levels of discouragement reported by those earning S$6,001 to $8,000 a month. The intensity then climbs for those with higher income levels.

Source: Marriage, Parenthood and Success Survey 2025

This suggests that, beyond a certain income level, individuals may be evaluating the cost of parenthood through the lens of maintaining a certain quality of life instead of how much they actually require to meet their children’s needs.

3. Gaps in attitudes between men and women

Finally, the survey also found that women (49%) are more likely than men (26%) to say that wife will sacrifice more in marriage.

The figures are similar for parenthood, with significantly fewer men (33%) than women (57%) saying that mothers will sacrifice more in parenthood.

This was also reflected in Cultivate’s Marriage, Family and Social Discourse survey in 2024, where there were similar findings about differences in sentiments between men and women towards marriage and family.

These perceptions suggest a mismatch of expectations between men and women on this important topic, hence deserving greater attention.

Where do we go from here?

In light of these findings, Cultivate SG shares these recommendations in their report.

• Normalise marriage and parenthood as milestones

On top of practical and financial support given to help Singaporeans achieve their marriage and parenthood aspirations, more attention should be placed on cultivating worldviews, values and attitudes. 

“These may include public or community-based education campaigns, mentoring programmes and community role models that normalise marriage and parenthood as aspirational life milestones,” said Darius Lee, Executive Director of Cultivate SG.

• Emphasise more holistic visions of success

While success might have looked different during Singapore’s nation-building era, perhaps a more holistic vision of success today would include having and fulfilling personal aspirations for marriage and parenthood, and building a thriving family life. 

• Address family life in career talks

“While there are frequent career-related talks and workshops for young people in schools and institutions of higher learning, it is important to broaden the scope of such talks to cover whole life planning,” explained Darius.

This might look like actively addressing the topic of family life (eg work-life balance, caregiving of children and elderly) in career-related talks, so that family becomes an important consideration even as one charts out their path in life.

• Bridge differences in attitudes between men and women 

“Policies should recognise the unique and complementary contributions of both men and women not only in public life, but also in domestic life,” shared Darius.

“These may include making greater effort to normalise caregiving roles and expand flexible work for both sexes, and encourage mutual partnership in marriage.”

• Reach out to hear Singaporeans’ concerns and hopes

Finally, Cultivate SG strongly recommends that the Government makes more effort in reaching out to men and women aged 18 to 44 to hear their concerns and hopes for marriage.

As young parents are particularly time-starved, the Government can also consider pursuing their views more intentionally, creating additional opportunities that suit their availabilities to collect valuable feedback. 

For the full findings of the Marriage, Parenthood and Success Survey 2025, visit the Cultivate SG website. 

RELATED STORIES: 

4 key findings from the Marriage, Family and Social Discourse Survey – Supplementary Report on Religion

Role of fathers, greater support needed for dads among key concerns raised at State of the Family 2024

Building a “home” for youths in the streets and sports courts of Henderson estate

“I blamed myself”: Pastor’s long journey of infertility and pain

The post Marriage and parenthood rank low among markers of success for Singaporeans: Cultivate SG survey appeared first on Salt&Light.