Singapore Launches Dating Service For Its Government Employees

In the wake of a record-low fertility rate in the country, Singapore has launched a dating platform for government workers who are aged between 21 and 35.

FirstDate, the matchmaking service, was launched this week. The website pitches itself as “a different approach to dating”. The service uses a Nobel winning algorithm to match participants to one date at a time.

BBC reported that some public servants in the government are happy and relaxed that at least there will be no scam, while others found it discriminatory against those who are not working for the government. GovTech has told local media that it has not decided whether to extend the service beyond employees at government agencies. For now, the wider rollout remains undecided.

The late mathematician Lloyd Shapley won the 2012 Nobel memorial prize in economic sciences for discovering the algorithm. The system has since been used in public school admissions, medical residency matching and dating apps.

How Will Participants Get Connected?

Participants will sign in through the national digital identity system when they join the service. They will answer a survey that covers their interests, habits and values so that they can match someone with the same interests. The eligibility criteria include both singles and widowed or divorced.

The Firstdate platform will use a mathematical approach that is based on the Gale-Shapley Stable Marriage algorithm. This algorithm pairs available participants based on their preferences. A user may get one match per matchmaking “cycle”. Matching will be based on a compatibility score, a description and a personal note. However, a match is not guaranteed in every cycle.

If a match occurs, both participants will receive an SMS confirmation, and they will have three days to accept, according to Asia News Network. Their profiles will be visible only to their assigned matches, and contact details will be shared only if both agree. Users will receive a short feedback survey, including questions about whether they met in person after each match

Why Was It Launched?

The pilot project was launched as the birth rate in Singapore reached to its historic low. In 2025, fewer than 30,000 babies were born in Singapore, which is the lowest in the last 6 decades. The number of deaths in 2025 was 26,500, which reflects the average population age of the country getting older.

Singapore has a population of around six million people. The drastic speed of ageing of the population has become an existential challenge to Singapore as its economy relies heavily on its citizens.

In February, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong warned that the citizen population could start falling by the early 2040s if nothing changes. He said that would mean fewer workers available to look after older people.

This is not the only step taken by the Singapore government to maintain the youth population. In August, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong rolled out a set of new steps to give families more support and nudge couples to have children. The plan offers almost S70,000 (54,000; £41,000) in aid for each child by the time they turn 17.

In past too, the government has played a significant role in efforts to increase the birth rate. The government widened its matchmaking push in 1985 by setting up a new agency to promote marriages among non-graduates, after creating a separate unit for graduate singles a year earlier. In 1984, it had launched the Social Development Unit, or SDU, to organise social events for university graduates.

This is not the first time when a government is promoting a dating service. Back in 2024, the metropolitan government launched an AI-powered dating app so that it can resist with the country's declining birth rate.