The Singapore government has launched a matchmaking application for civil servants as one way to address the ongoing low birth rate crisis in the island nation.
On 30 Sep 2026 GMT+7, foreign news agencies reported that Singapore introduced a matchmaking app called “FirstDate” for civil servants and public sector employees aged 21 to 35 as part of measures to combat the continuously declining birth rate crisis.
This app operates using the Gale-Shapley algorithm, which won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economics, and it offers users only one potential date at a time to alleviate the problem of swipe fatigue common in typical dating apps.
For security, users must verify their identity through the government's digital system and complete a survey about their interests, personality, and values; civil servants believe this reduces the risk of online scams better than regular apps.
Currently, FirstDate is in a trial phase and has sparked mixed reactions; some social media users view it as discriminatory against non-public sector workers and criticize the age limit of 35, suggesting the government focuses solely on increasing birth rates while neglecting older singles.
Similar criticism occurred previously when Singapore established the SDU matchmaking agency in 1984, which faced accusations of class bias by targeting university graduates, leading to the eventual phase-out of that program.
This latest government move comes amid Singapore’s record low birth rate crisis: in 2025, the country recorded fewer than 30,000 births for the first time in 60 years, while deaths rose to about 26,500 that same year.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced family subsidies up to approximately SGD 70,000 per child until age 17, though it remains uncertain if this will boost birth rates.
Government use of technology for matchmaking is not new; in September 2024, Tokyo, Japan, launched an AI-powered matchmaking app, which reportedly has helped 265 couples marry so far.
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Source:bbc