Demographics of Malaysia

Demographics of Malaysia
Population pyramid of Malaysia in 2020
Population34,100,000 (2024 est.)
Growth rate1.03% (2023 est.)
Birth rate13.2 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate5.8 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Life expectancy76.13 years
 • male74.5 years
 • female77.87 years
Fertility rate1.70 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate6.59 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate1.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years22.46%
15–64 years69.42%
65 and over8.12%
Sex ratio
Total1.05 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.07 male(s)/female
Under 151.06 male(s)/female
65 and over1.14 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityMalaysian
Major ethnicBumiputera (69.9%)
Minor ethnic
  • Chinese (22.8%)
  • Indian (6.6%)
Language
OfficialMalay

The demographics of Malaysia are represented by the multiple ethnic groups that exist in the country. The official estimate of 2024 Malaysia's population is about 34,100,000 people.[1] According to the 2020 census, is 32,447,385 including non-citizens, which makes it the 43rd most populated country in the world.[2] Of these, 5.72 million live in East Malaysia and 22.5 million live in Peninsular Malaysia.[3] The population distribution is uneven, with some 79% of its citizens concentrated in Peninsular Malaysia, which has an area of 131,598 square kilometres (50,810.27 sq mi), constituting under 40% of the total area of Malaysia.[4]

The Malaysian population is growing at a rate of 1.94% per annum as of 2017. According to latest projection of the 2010 census, the fertility rates of the 3 largest Malaysian groups are as follows: Malay/Bumiputera: 2.4 children per woman, Chinese: 1.4 children per woman and Indian: 1.8 children per woman. Malay fertility rates are 40% higher than Malaysian Indians and 56% higher than Malaysian Chinese. Population projections in 2023 show that the Malays and Bumiputeras comprised a total of 69.9% of the total population, Chinese 22.8% and Indians 6.6%.[5] The Chinese population has shrunk proportionally from 1957, when it was about 40% of Malaya,[6] although in absolute numbers they have increased around threefold by 2017 in Malaysia (2.4 million in 1957 to 6.6 million in 2017, the later figure includes East Malaysia) but have been dwarfed by the fivefold increase of Malays (from around 3.1 million in 1957 to 15.5 million in 2017).[6][7]

  1. ^ "Malaysia". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020". Department of Statistics, Malaysia. p. 48. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  3. ^ Population, Household and Living Quarters (2010) Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Department of Statistics, Malaysia.
  4. ^ "Current Population Estimates, Malaysia, 2014 – 2016". Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016.
  5. ^ Demographic Transition in Malaysia, Demographic Statistics Division, Malaysia. [1] Archived 28 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference hirschman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Population by States and Ethnic Group". Department of Information, Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, Malaysia. 2015. Archived from the original on 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2015.