World Notes Singapore

For years Singapore's family-planning program has used the slogan, "Two Is Enough." The government's policy worked so well that the fertility rate of the crowded island-state's 2.6 million people is only 1.5 children per family. Now, however, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is concerned that the population will not be large enough to support the government's long-term goals of becoming a high-tech, export-oriented country. Accordingly, an Interministerial Committee on Population is preparing proposals that will encourage Singapore's couples to have more children. To kick off the new campaign, the government has coined a new slogan: "At Least Two. Better Three. Four If You Can Afford It."