Malaysia’s population growth slows to 1.6 percent in the third quarter of 2024 as birth rates fall

In the third quarter of 2024, Malaysia’s population expanded by 1.6%, which was less than the 2.1% growth rate during the same time in 2023.

34.1 million people are expected to live there in Q3 2024, up from 33.6 million in Q3 2023.

According to Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin, the decrease in births may be the cause of the slower population growth.

According to him, 30.7 million people make up 90% of the overall population, while 3.4 million people are non-citizens.

He reported that while the number of women increased to 16.2 million (up from 16 million), the number of men increased to 17.9 million (up from 17.6 million in Q3 2023) as well.

“The overall ratio is 111 males to 100 females, while the ratio for citizens is 103 males to 100 females,” he said.

Mohd Uzir said the young age population (0-14 years old) was unchanged at 7.6 million (22.2% of the total population), while the working age population (15-64 years) and older population (65 years and over) increased from 23.5 million (70%) and 2.5 million (7.5%) to 23.9 million (70.2%) and 2.6 million (7.7%), respectively.

According to him, the Malays made up 58.1% of the population (up from 57.9% in Q3 2023), while the Chinese and Indians dropped to 22.4% and 6.5% of the total population, respectively, from 22.5% and 6.6% in Q3 2023. Other Bumiputras stayed at 12.3%.

Additionally, according to Mohd Uzir, there were 100,645 live births, a 12.3% drop from the 113,764 registered in Q3 2023.

With 19,458 live births (19.3%), Selangor had the most, while the Federal Territory of Labuan had the fewest (327 births, 0.3%).

Mothers between the ages of 30 and 39 account for 50.3% of live births in Malaysia, followed by those between the ages of 20 and 29 (42.6%), 40 and older (5.0%), and under 20 (2.1%).

“On average, one baby was born per minute, 46 babies per hour, and 1,094 babies per day in the third quarter of 2024,” Mohd Uzir said.

He added a total of 48,317 deaths were recorded, an increase of 1.9% compared to 47,438 deaths recorded in Q3 2023.

The 60-year-old and above age group recorded the highest number of deaths at 33,995 (70.4%), followed by 41-59 years (20.0%), 15-40 years (7.5%), and 0-14 years (2.2%).

“On average, one death was recorded every two minutes, 22 deaths per hour, and 525 deaths per day in the third quarter of 2024,” Mohd Uzir said.