Singapore launches FirstDate dating service for government employees to combat low fertility rate

Singapore launches dating matching service designed specifically for government employees. The measure comes as the country faces its lowest fertility rate ever.

FirstDate, which launched this week, is open to people aged 21 to 35 and claims to offer "different ways to date". It uses a Nobel Prize-winning algorithm to match participants with only one date at a time. “The fatigue of constantly sliding ends here,” its website reads.

Participants must log in using the national digital identity system and fill out a questionnaire about their interests, habits and values.

After the launch of FirstDate, it triggered different reactions in Singaporean society. Some people described it as a "dystopian" arrangement, while others expressed their willingness to give it a try.

On its website, FirstDate specifically introduces the "Gale-Shapley Stable Marriage algorithm" that drives the service.

This mathematical model pairs two equal groups based on preferences.

The late mathematician Lloyd Shapley was awarded the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for discovering this algorithm. In addition to being used in dating software, this algorithm is also used in areas such as public school admissions and medical residency matching.

Elizabeth, 29, who works for the Singapore Ministry of Defense and is interested in trying FirstDate, told the BBC: "Ultimately, I think the experience of meeting people through apps is actually not very different between different types of platforms."

"But it still feels good knowing that the possibility of being defrauded is much lower. After all, we are all civil servants looking for a partner, right?"

However, some social media users believe that the scheme, which is still in the pilot stage, constitutes discrimination against non-government sector workers, and some have criticized the age limit.

One netizen wrote: "They are just doing this to increase the total fertility rate. They don't really care if we find a partner."

Another Reddit user said: "Due to the higher risk of childbirth over the age of 35, the government simply excludes these older singles."

It's unclear whether the pilot program will be open to the public in the future. The BBC has sought a response from GovTech, the statutory body responsible for driving the pilot scheme.

The pilot program comes at a time when Singapore's birth rate has fallen to a record low. In 2025, Singapore will have less than 30,000 births in the whole year for the first time in 60 years.

On the other hand, the death toll in this country with an aging population continues to rise, reaching approximately 26,500 in 2025.

In August this year, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced a series of new measures to better support families and encourage couples to have children, including providing financial support of nearly 70,000 Singapore dollars (US$54,000; £41,000) before each child reaches the age of 17.

FirstDate is not the city-state's first attempt at playing Cupid.

In 1984, Singapore established the Social Development Unit (SDU), which is responsible for organizing social activities and encouraging singles with university degrees to communicate and get to know each other.

The measure was criticized as elitist because it was limited to university graduates, but the government argued at the time that it did not appear to be difficult for non-university graduates to find a partner. SDU was eventually phased out.

The following year, the government established another agency to promote marriage among non-college graduates.

The idea of ​​a government-led dating service is not unique to Singapore.