Projecting complete cohort fertility in Singapore

The discussion concerning fertility in Singapore during the post-Second World War period has been confined to consideration of the reduction in total period fertility. Although a focus on period fertility makes good sense in planning for school and university admissions, for maternal and child health care services, for future national service intakes and so on, it is easy, yet potentially misleading, to go one stage further and deduce that since total period fertility has been below the replacement level for a few years, the population is not replacing itself.