Singapore has rolled out a matchmaking service for its government workers, an initiative that comes as the country wrestles with a record-low fertility rate.
FirstDate, which launched this week for those aged 21 to 35, boasts "a different approach to dating", where it uses a Nobel-winning algorithm to match participants to one date at a time. "Swipe fatigue ends here," its website reads.
Participants sign in using the national digital identity system and answer a survey about their interests, habits and values.
FirstDate's launch drew mixed responses among Singaporeans, with some describing it as "dystopian" and others saying they would be keen to give it a shot.
On its website, FirstDate highlights the Gale-Shapley Stable Marriage algorithm which powers the programme.
The mathematical framework pairs two equally sized groups of people based on their preferences.
The late mathematician Lloyd Shapley was awarded the 2012 Nobel memorial prize in economic sciences for discovering the algorithm, which has been used in public school admissions, medical residency matching, and dating apps, among other things.
"At the end of the day, I think the experience of meeting someone through an application doesn't change much across the [different types of] applications," Elizabeth, a 29-year-old who works in Singapore's defence ministry and is keen on trying FirstDate out told the BBC.
"But it is nice to know that the likelihood of being scammed is much lower. We're all public servants looking for a partner, right?"
But some social media users say the initiative, which is currently in its pilot phase, discriminates against those not working in government.
Others criticised the age limit. "They are only doing this to raise the total fertility rate. They don't actually [care] about whether we find a partner otherwise.
"Since there are higher risks involved in having kids at 35 and older, the government just writes [the older singles] off," wrote another Reddit user.
It is not clear if the pilot programme will be available to the wider public in future. The BBC has reached out to GovTech, the statutory board behind the pilot, for comment.
The pilot launch comes as Singapore's birth rate has slumped to historic lows. For the first time in the past 60 years, fewer than 30,000 babies were born in 2025.
The number of deaths meanwhile have been rising steadily in the greying nation, hitting about 26,500 in 2025.
In August, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced a series of new measures to better support families and to encourage couples to have children, including almost S$70,000 ($54,000; £41,000) in financial support for every child by the time they turn 17.
FirstDate is not the first time the citystate is trying to play Cupid to its citizens.
In 1984, it set up the Social Development Unit (SDU) tasked with organising social events to encourage graduate singles to mingle.
Its exclusive target audience of university graduates was criticised as being elitist, but authorities justified the approach saying non-graduates did not seem to have difficulty finding partners. The SDU was eventually phased out.
The next year, the government set up another agency to promote marriages among non-graduates.
The idea of a government-run dating service is not unique to Singapore. In September 2024, Tokyo's metropolitan government launched an AI-powered dating app in an effort to combat the country's declining birth rate.
The app, which is open to single residents in the city, resulted in 265 couples getting married, according to government data released in July this year.
Source: BBC
-Agencies
