This blog is designed for the general public who wishes to know more about the Singapore and South Africa cultures. In this blog, we explore issues pertaining to the marriage values in both countries and evaluate the similarities and differences of these two diverse cultures.

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why a 'blog'?

With the advancement in internet technology, we believe that blog will reach out to a larger audience. In addition, studies have shown that youth of aged 19 to 24 spend a considerable amount on the internet surfing websites and recently, blogs especially. Therefore, by creating a blog, educating others on the cultural aspect of Singapore and South African youth, we hope that our target audience can put themselves ‘in the shoes of the youth’, thereby creating a greater sense of understanding. Blogs are also accessible 24/7, compared to picture pages or PowerPoint slides.

In addition, blogs can be visited by anyone, compared to ‘Facebook’ where an account is required to access. Also, we feel that blogs are more ‘personalized’ and interactive, therefore more interesting to read.

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overview of singapore

Singapore is one of the few city states in the world. With a size of 704.0 km², Singapore is the smallest country in South-East Asia. Despite this, Singapore has made use of its most precious resources that is human resources to become what she is today. Today, Singapore stands at the ranking of number 17th in the world’s wealthiest countries and is the second most densely populated country in the world. The main racial groups in Singapore consist of the Chinese, Indians, Malays, Eurasians and Others.

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characteristics of singaporean youth

In understanding the Singaporean youth, looking at the things that they value highly in their lives would give a good kick off.

According to the National Youth Survey, Singaporean youth value their family more than any other. Family support is a big thing. 75% of them are able to get along well with their families. Next in line is their value for their friends. Singaporean youth also spend a lot of time with their friends shopping, chatting, or bar hopping.

We can also look at the Singapore youth in different perspectives. Having a meritocratic society, education is really important to the Singaporean youth. According to the National Youth Survey 81% of the youth would want to complete tertiary education, 44% intends to have a polytechnic diploma and 37% aims to get a degree in university.
Aside from this, Singaporean youth also engages in a lot of extra-curricular activities, one of which is sports. Based on the National Youth Survey, 67% of those aged 15-19 and 42% of those aged 20-24 engage in sports regularly. Aside from health reasons, the main thing that motivates the youth in going to sports is really the love for the sport or the need for socialization or being together with their friends.

With all the different priorities each Singaporean youth have, marriage comes into their mind only at a later age. This is why Singapore has an aging population. More and more of the youth are giving more importance to their careers. Most of the youth would only marry when they are financially stable.

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overview of south africa

South Africa is at the southern tip of the country of Africa, and because it has the largest economy in Africa, South Africa is often regarded as the most socially, economically and infrastructural developed country compared to the rest of the continents. The country is ethnically diverse, with the main groups of Caucasian, Indian and racially mixed communities in Africa. Because of the country’s developing multicultural diversity, South Africa is also often referred to as the “Rainbow Nation”.

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characteristics of south african youth

The demographics of youth make up 40 percent or more of the population in South Africa. According to an online source published in 2006, an overwhelming 97% of the country's 16- to 24-year-olds are proud to call themselves South African. The youth are very supportive of the nation and have confidence that it will grow into a healthy and powerful nation. They feel a sense of belonging to the nation, are patriotic and identify themselves strongly with the South African culture.
Racial differences in educational attainment often have an impact on economic prospects of youth. Research results by the Community Agency for Social Enquiry have reported that in the absence of tertiary education, career opportunities are limited. The figures for whites in completing their matri (in other words, university level) are higher than the blacks, with 21% and 29% respectively. The proportion of whites with post-matri education is eight times higher than that of Africans in the 16-19 age group. In the 20-24 age group, it is fourteen times higher. Results have indicated that Africans choose to continue their higher education at a later stage in life with reasons including family obligations.

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why we chose marriage values?

Singapore, alongside with South Africa is experiencing decline in birthrates and late marriages. Greater emphasis on gender equality has empowered more women to have higher education and greater opportunities in society standing. In Singapore itself, coupled with the problem of the ageing population, the government has also been actively promoting the idea of marriage to young Singaporeans. For instance, the Social Development Unit (SDU) was set up to promote marriage among graduate singles and inculcate positive attitudes towards marriage in Singapore in order to achieve strong and stable families in the future.

Youth in the age group of 19-24 are of marriageable age. By exploring the mindset and values of what the youth in Singapore and South African think and feel about marriage, we may notice numerous cultural traits that reveal the similarities and differences about the two cultures.

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singaporean youth marriage values

Singapore has shown a less than positive outlook in marriage for the past few years. In year 2000, men marry at an average age of 28.7 while women marry at an average age of 26.2. In the year 2006, men marry at an average age of 29.7 while it became 27 for the female. They now marry at a later age due to a lot of factors.

Singaporean youth have a very cautious view about marriage. Marriage is a thing that they don’t take lightly. Getting married is a major decision because even if getting married is quite cheap, a married life is not. This is why the youth have a mindset that it is not wise to get married if you are not financially stable.

Several other factors also contribute to this problem One is social barrier, in a economy that is highly developing like that of Singapore, a lot of career options are available and it gets hard for people to find suitable partners based on their educational attainments.

Another is the lifestyle choice, in a booming economy, more options are available for individuals and so some people would prefer to remain single, get married at a later age and perhaps have lesser children.

Financial matters are also vital in marriage decisions. As mentioned above, getting married is not costly but those who want to live or give their future family a higher standard of living would have to focus more on their career at an earlier age. Therefore, most of them would want to first have a stable financial source before getting married. Some may also choose to have fewer children since it is really expensive in bringing up a child and giving them a comfortable living.

This has become a problem for Singapore because of the effect to the workforce and the population as a whole. Due to this the government has made certain initiatives like the Social Development Unit (SDU) and also campaigns such as “Romancing Singapore”. This is to aid college graduates in finding partners and uplift the low marriage rate of the country.

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south african youth marriage values

South African youth have vastly different mindsets compared to the older generations. Surveys conducted have shown that the older generation South Africans has a more positive attitude towards marriage compared to the youth. Recent studies have also shown that the South Africa’s marriage rate is relatively low when compared to the other sub-Saharan African countries. It appears that this marriage rate will continue to decline, with corresponding increases in the trend of cohabitation. Currently, the median age of marriage is 27 and 29 for women and men respectively. However, it is still comforting to note that the youth still strongly believe in the importance of marriage.

Reasons that deter the youth from marriage


In South Africa, especially among the blacks, polygamy marriages are allowed. Studies have shown that only 25% and 15% of African men and white men respectively are responsive towards the idea of polygamy marriage. On the other hand, only 11% and 3.7% of African women and white women respectively are responsive towards the idea of polygamy marriage. In all, the idea of polygamy marriages has deterred the youth today from marriage.


The procedure of Lobola:
Bride's mom (center) sits with the aunties Bride's cousin and his wife along with brother in the center
Bride was kept alone during the morning of the LobolaBogobe and Morogo are prepared over open fireA goat is slaughtered for bride's Lobola
Africans who agree that lobola discourages marriage, by gender and age.
Another characteristic in the South African marriage is the custom of Lobola. When a South African couple plans to get married, Lobola a traditional Southern African dowry custom is practiced, where the man has to pay the family of his future bride for her hand in marriage. Lobola aims to tighten the ties between two families, fostering mutual respect. In addition, it also shows the financial capability of the South African man. Though Lobola is a highly regarded custom back in the past, it is currently not as important in today’s context. Many South African youth do not think it is necessary for Lobola to be practiced and as much as 48% of them agree that Lobola discourages marriage.

With increase in the standard of living over the years, many South African women have become more highly educated. Many want to have a successful career, and put thoughts of marriage in second place. This can be seen from the ‘leap’ in the median age for marriage in women. In 1998, it was 22 years old but it stands at 27 now, showing a 5 years difference, compared to the men, with just a 3 year difference from 1998 to the present year.

On the other end, South African families are becoming smaller over the years as there is a shift in importance to parenting. This can be attributed to the increase in standard of living. Quality of life is more important than the quantity of children in today’s society.

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similarities between the two cultures

1) Education: In both cultures, the youth are relatively highly educated. There is also an increase in the number of women who are highly educated. This high education level, coupled with the increase in quality of life shows how the youth have started to strive for success and achievement, bringing out the competitive nature of the youth in both cultures. Hence, marriage has taken a back seat.

This also leads to youth from both countries to be more

2) Individualistic: South Africans dread the idea of practicing Lobola, and some would not consider marriage for this reason. This shows how the youth in this culture have their own stand of point now that they are more westernized and more highly educated. Personal goals become more important, and marriage is considered only after the youth feel that they are financially stable.

Yet, on the other hand, youth are also group-orientated.

3) Group Orientated (Collectivism): Family values are still given much consideration. Some South African youth will practice Lobola because it is still a tradition after all and they want to respect the elderly. In the same way, Singapore youth still carry out traditional customs like the tea ceremony in the Chinese wedding, and throw lavish banquets to ‘please’ their parents even though it might not be their wish to do so. In this case, parents would then have ‘face’.

4) Cautious view towards marriage but recognizes its importance: This is attributed by education and the fact that youth prefer to be financially stable. Therefore, although marriage is a burden in terms of financial and responsibilities, they will marry eventually, but at a later stage of their life.

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differences between the two cultures

The difference between the Singapore and South Africa cultures with regards to marriage is that of monogamy and polygamy respectively. Polygamy refers to having more than one spouse at the same time.

In South Africa, some of the older generation feels that practicing polygamy is a way of preserving their culture. To South Africans, the idea of polygamy solves a lot of issues because divorce is not allowed in the African customary marriages. However, in the Singapore context, divorce is matter of personal choices and rights. Therefore as long as you find fault in the marriage, you can choose to end the marriage.

Furthermore, in South Africa, the first wife often finds herself deprived from access to the marital property. Therefore in 1998, laws were passed in South Africa to permit polygamy as long as the wife’s interest is protected. In Singapore, women are also protected by laws such that after divorce, they will be entitled to a sum of money for compensation.

Another difference between the two cultures is the issue of bride price. In Singapore, it is a tradition for the bride’s family to pay a dowry to the groom’s family. This symbolizes that the groom will be taking responsibility of providing for her. On the other hand in South Africa, it is the groom that pays, through the transfer of cattle or money, to the bride’s family. In this case, the husband appears to be “buying” his wife from her parents.

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Understanding the two cultures better

In order to understand another culture better, it is important to not to stereotype in the beginning. Stereotyping would not allow us to identify the culture differences we have, and thus deeper understanding would not be fostered.
To get a general and wide idea of a certain culture, it is also important to be objective.

Opinions from various people should be gathered, as the voice of one might not represent the rest in the society accurately. Also, we must be more open to accept and understand others. When we judge another culture, it is important that we do not judge them in accordance to our own culture standards as this would not provide an accurate framework.

To further understand the culture between South African and Singapore youth, it would be a good idea to conduct student exchange programs across both countries in their respective universities. This will allow youth to have a first-hand experience. Workshops and educational fairs by professionals and educators can be conducted at both countries to allow youth to ask questions about both countries and gain deeper knowledge of the culture. Cross-collaboration projects can be carried out so that youth across both countries have more opportunities to interact with each other. In addition, it helps to foster a greater relationship amongst the youth from both countries as they aim towards a common goal.

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