Singapore has launched a government-backed matchmaking service for public sector workers aged 21 to 35, as the city state confronts a historic decline in births and fertility.
Called FirstDate, the pilot programme uses participants’ preferences, interests, habits and values to arrange one potential match at a time. Users sign in through Singapore’s national digital identity system before completing a questionnaire designed to help determine compatible partners.
The programme, developed by Singapore’s Government Technology Agency, uses the Gale-Shapley Stable Marriage algorithm, a mathematical framework developed to create stable matches between two groups based on their preferences. Brandspur Brand News reports that the algorithm was developed by mathematician Lloyd Shapley, who shared the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
FirstDate has attracted both interest and criticism since its launch. Some Singaporeans have questioned why the pilot is limited to government workers, while others have raised concerns about the 21 to 35 age restriction. Supporters, however, say a government-backed platform could offer a more controlled environment for people seeking relationships.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of Singapore’s worsening demographic pressures. Fewer than 30,000 babies were born in 2025, the first time the annual figure has fallen below that level in six decades. Deaths reached about 26,500 during the same year as the country’s population continued to age.
Singapore has been increasing its efforts to make family formation and child-rearing more attractive. In August, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced additional measures that would provide almost S$70,000 in financial support for each child by the age of 17.
The country has previously experimented with government involvement in matchmaking. In 1984, authorities established the Social Development Unit to organise social activities for university graduates and encourage relationships. The programme was later phased out, while a separate initiative was subsequently created for non-graduates.
Singapore is also not alone in turning to technology as part of its response to declining birth rates. Tokyo’s metropolitan government introduced an AI-powered dating application in September 2024 for single residents. Japanese government figures released in July indicated that the initiative had contributed to 265 marriages.
It remains uncertain whether FirstDate will eventually be opened to Singapore’s wider population. For now, the pilot is focused on public servants between 21 and 35, making it another experiment by an ageing Asian society seeking new ways to encourage relationships, marriage and, ultimately, family formation.
