Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday night at the annual National Day Rally that the country's long-term economic growth rate is estimated to hit 3 percent to 5 percent.

Noting the city state's good economic performance in the past two years, Lee said that Singapore enjoys a stable and favorable international environment where Asia is growing fast and China and India are exhibiting tremendous potential.

To sustain the growth and prosperity, Lee said, Singapore needs to maintain its population by encouraging families to have more children and attracting more new immigrants here as well.

Singapore needs at least 50,000 newborn babies a year to maintain a population of 4 million, according to Lee, who acknowledged that policy changes to encourage couples to have more babies, which were introduced two years ago, have rendered modest results so far.

Some 36,000 babies were born and the total fertility rate remained as low as 1.24 in Singapore last year.

Stressing the importance of attracting more immigrants, Lee urged Singaporeans not to regard new immigrants as a threat to their jobs because if the country's population were to shrink, Singaporeans would face a major crisis.

A growing population with talents in every field can make the economy and the society more vibrant and create more jobs for all, Lee added.

Source: Xinhua