The Papayas are silent on how man of the 35% are FTrash themselves who took up the smelly pink IC and then marry their kakis! Or one of the couple getting the pink IC after getting married to get freebies from the Papayas!
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>More older men seeking foreign brides
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Proportion doubles to 35% over decade up to last year, study shows </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Zakir Hussain, Political Correspondent
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Men over 40 here are tending to marry foreign women younger than themselves, with four-fifths of the brides under 40. -- ST FILE PHOTO
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->IT'S official: More older Singaporean men whom Cupid missed are seeking marital bliss by marrying non-Singaporean women.
Compared to 1998, when only 18 per cent of such marriages involved men above 40, that proportion doubled to 35 per cent last year.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
MARRIAGES BY EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (%), MARRIAGES BY AGE GROUP OF SINGAPORE MEN (%)
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>These men also tend to marry foreign women significantly younger, with four-fifths of their brides being under 40.
These figures, contained in an occasional paper put out by the National Population Secretariat (NPS), corroborate anecdotal evidence from marriage agencies, counsellors and MPs.
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Charles Chong says he now gets at least one plea for help each week from a resident who is in such a marriage, and these numbers have been increasing over the past few years.
A number of these marriages fail due to cultural differences or financial difficulties, he notes, while pointing out that 'many more are working well, and the children go on to excel in school'.
The NPS paper on marriages between citizens and non-Singaporeans over the past 10 years is part of an effort to highlight emerging population trends.
It comes at a time when more Singaporeans are marrying non-citizens. In 1998, 6,969 did so. This figure rose to 8,136 last year, making up one-third of all marriages.
Of this group, 6,360 - 78 per cent - involve Singaporean men marrying foreign women.
Mr Chong estimates that 60 foreign spouses become citizens each year in his constituency of 48,000.
At the national level, most marriages involving foreign spouses tie persons of similar educational levels together.
Half of the Singaporean men with foreign brides had secondary education or lower, a figure that was similar for their brides.
Almost all these brides came from Asia, according to the NPS, but it did not provide a breakdown by country.
Matchmaking agencies point to significant demand for brides from places like China and Vietnam.
The picture for Singaporean brides who married foreign men is vastly different. These women are younger, with three-quarters aged between 25 and 39. Half of them, like their foreign grooms, have a degree.
Last year, around 70per cent of their grooms were from Asia, 15per cent from Europe and 6per cent from the Americas.
NPS expects more citizens will marry foreigners as Singapore continues to globalise.
Both foreign brides and grooms have also contributed to the national effort to make more Singaporean babies. Last year, 9,870 babies had a foreign parent. They formed 30per cent of the babies born as citizens.
The country's fertility rate was 1.28 last year, down a notch from 1.29 in 2007, and way short of the 2.1 replacement rate.
The rate has been below 1.5 for the past decade, except for one year - 2000 - when it spiked up to 1.6 because the Chinese consider the year of the dragon to be an auspicious one.
Last year, Singapore's population hit 4.84 million, including a record 1.2 million who were not citizens or permanent residents.
NPS expects this figure to be 'moderated' in the current recession.
There were also a record 79,167 new permanent residents and 20,513 new citizens last year, with more than half of these new residents having at least post-secondary education.
There were also more than 180,000 overseas Singaporeans last year, two-thirds of them aged between 20 and 54.
The Government will expand the network of Overseas Singaporean Clubs in major cities abroad.
There are now 13 such clubs in Singapore-owned or Singapore-run hotels in places like New York, Beijing, Sydney and Hanoi. They hold monthly events for citizens to meet, and have a reading corner with Singapore newspapers and magazines. [email protected]
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>More older men seeking foreign brides
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Proportion doubles to 35% over decade up to last year, study shows </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Zakir Hussain, Political Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Men over 40 here are tending to marry foreign women younger than themselves, with four-fifths of the brides under 40. -- ST FILE PHOTO
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->IT'S official: More older Singaporean men whom Cupid missed are seeking marital bliss by marrying non-Singaporean women.
Compared to 1998, when only 18 per cent of such marriages involved men above 40, that proportion doubled to 35 per cent last year.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>These men also tend to marry foreign women significantly younger, with four-fifths of their brides being under 40.
These figures, contained in an occasional paper put out by the National Population Secretariat (NPS), corroborate anecdotal evidence from marriage agencies, counsellors and MPs.
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Charles Chong says he now gets at least one plea for help each week from a resident who is in such a marriage, and these numbers have been increasing over the past few years.
A number of these marriages fail due to cultural differences or financial difficulties, he notes, while pointing out that 'many more are working well, and the children go on to excel in school'.
The NPS paper on marriages between citizens and non-Singaporeans over the past 10 years is part of an effort to highlight emerging population trends.
It comes at a time when more Singaporeans are marrying non-citizens. In 1998, 6,969 did so. This figure rose to 8,136 last year, making up one-third of all marriages.
Of this group, 6,360 - 78 per cent - involve Singaporean men marrying foreign women.
Mr Chong estimates that 60 foreign spouses become citizens each year in his constituency of 48,000.
At the national level, most marriages involving foreign spouses tie persons of similar educational levels together.
Half of the Singaporean men with foreign brides had secondary education or lower, a figure that was similar for their brides.
Almost all these brides came from Asia, according to the NPS, but it did not provide a breakdown by country.
Matchmaking agencies point to significant demand for brides from places like China and Vietnam.
The picture for Singaporean brides who married foreign men is vastly different. These women are younger, with three-quarters aged between 25 and 39. Half of them, like their foreign grooms, have a degree.
Last year, around 70per cent of their grooms were from Asia, 15per cent from Europe and 6per cent from the Americas.
NPS expects more citizens will marry foreigners as Singapore continues to globalise.
Both foreign brides and grooms have also contributed to the national effort to make more Singaporean babies. Last year, 9,870 babies had a foreign parent. They formed 30per cent of the babies born as citizens.
The country's fertility rate was 1.28 last year, down a notch from 1.29 in 2007, and way short of the 2.1 replacement rate.
The rate has been below 1.5 for the past decade, except for one year - 2000 - when it spiked up to 1.6 because the Chinese consider the year of the dragon to be an auspicious one.
Last year, Singapore's population hit 4.84 million, including a record 1.2 million who were not citizens or permanent residents.
NPS expects this figure to be 'moderated' in the current recession.
There were also a record 79,167 new permanent residents and 20,513 new citizens last year, with more than half of these new residents having at least post-secondary education.
There were also more than 180,000 overseas Singaporeans last year, two-thirds of them aged between 20 and 54.
The Government will expand the network of Overseas Singaporean Clubs in major cities abroad.
There are now 13 such clubs in Singapore-owned or Singapore-run hotels in places like New York, Beijing, Sydney and Hanoi. They hold monthly events for citizens to meet, and have a reading corner with Singapore newspapers and magazines. [email protected]
