“In 2029, we will enter a phase of ultra-low birth rates. With this trend, we can already foresee significant implications for our workforce, education system, and the distribution of resources,” said Macau’s Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, O Lam, while presenting her policy guidelines at the Legislative Assembly (AL).
Macau recorded 3,607 births in 2024, 105 fewer than the previous year, resulting in a birth rate — the number of newborns per thousand inhabitants — of 5.3, according to official data.
The city also registered a fertility rate of 0.58 children per woman in 2024, the lowest ever recorded in Macau. Also known as the birth rate, this figure estimates the average number of children a woman would bear over her reproductive lifetime.
This fertility rate is even lower than the 0.68 births per woman projected in a report released in July by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), which identified the figure as the lowest in the world.
“Our entire model of family support will also need to adapt,” O Lam added, making her first appearance in the Legislative Assembly as a government secretary. The new Government, which took office in December, aims to “encourage childbirth”, invest in education, and strengthen support for families, she reiterated.
O Lam highlighted that from this year, a childcare subsidy of MOP 1,500 (EUR 165) per month will be introduced for Macau-resident children under three years of age. She also announced that the birth subsidy “has been increased” to MOP 6,500 (EUR 716), alongside the introduction of a “medically assisted reproduction support programme”.
At the AL, O Lam said that by the end of this decade, Macau would surpass the “super-ageing” threshold. She presented the figures: in 2024, the elderly (those aged 65 or above) accounted for 14.6 per cent of the population; by 2029, this proportion is expected to rise to 21.4 per cent, and by 2041, to nearly a quarter (24.8 per cent).
In this context, the secretary stressed that “there is still much work to be done”, particularly regarding the provision of elderly care homes. The average waiting time to enter one of these institutions currently stands at 16 months, she noted, emphasising that more facilities, including private homes, will be created.
Platform with Lusa
