Elon Musk responds to 2026 National Day Rally: 'Humans are disappearing'

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong addressed the country's falling fertility rate in his 2026 National Day Rally speech. The nation has implemented measures such as providing $70,000 in direct financial support for each Singaporean from birth to age 17, extending childcare leave, and increasing opportunities for first-time families to secure build-to-order (BTO) flats.

These steps were taken in response to a record-low total fertility rate of 0.87 in 2025, which is significantly below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.

Reaction to Singapore's fertility efforts came from Elon Musk, the world's richest man, who expressed his concern that humans are disappearing. Musk has previously warned about the dangers of a sudden population collapse, attributing it to falling birth rates, which he considers the single greatest existential threat to human civilization.

Musk has even stated that declining birth rates pose a higher risk than global warming, often highlighting countries with fertility rates below the replacement level. However, demographers have criticized Musk's predictions as alarmist, with UN reports suggesting the global population will grow to near 10 billion before any major decline.