 With the rapid increase of Singapore after the war, the country would soon face of the effects of overpopulation, which could be the depletion of natural resources, degradation of environment, a rise in unemployment, and a higher cost of living.From 1947 to 1957, the social forces which caused the post–World War II baby boom elsewhere in the world also occurred in Singapore.The birth rate rose and the death rate fell; the average annual growth rate was 4.4%, of which 1% was due to immigration; Singapore experienced its highest birth rate in 1957 at 42.7 per thousand individuals.