MORE Singaporeans are getting foreign brides.
There were 6,360 such marriages last year, and increase from 5,414 in 2004.
This revelation was made in parliament Tuesday by Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan in a written reply to a question.
The minister had been asked about the number of such marriages as a result of matchmaking services in the last five years.
Dr Vivian said the ministry was unable to ascertain how many of the marriages involving foreigners were match-made.
Last year, 24,596 marriages were recorded in the city state - a third were between Singapore grooms and non-citizens.
He also said that last year, 746 Singaporean men divorced their foreign spouses.
Divorce involving Singaporean grooms and non-Singaporean brides represented 11 per cent of the total number of cases, he added.
However, Dr Vivian said the divorce rate divorce rate of transnational marriages is not significantly different from other marriages.
He said the government recognised that cultural differences and linguistic barriers were a challenge in any marriage.
He said his ministry had been working with related bodies to provide marriage preparation and enrichment programmes to all couples.
The minister said the government was also looking into formulating programmes tailored for Singaporean-foreigner marriages.
