Malaysia's population is estimated at 32.7m, including 3m non-citizens

PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's population this year is estimated at 32.7 million, up from 32.5 million in 2019, with an annual growth rate of 0.4 per cent.

The country's Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the slower rate in the nation's population growth was due to the decrease in the number of non-citizens from 3.1 million in 2019 to three million this year.

"This is in line with the closure of our national borders and the return of foreigners to their respective countries during the movement control order (MCO) period following the Covid-19 pandemic," he said while presenting the findings in an online press conference on Wednesday (July 15).

Out of the estimated population of 32.7 million, 29.7 million were citizens while three million were non-citizens.

The non-citizens are believed to be mostly Indonesians and southern Filipinos in Sabah state.

"The growth rate of citizens remained stable at 1.1 per cent, with the population increasing from 29.4 million in 2019 to 29.7 million in 2020," he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia is increasingly headed towards being an ageing nation, with the percentage of the population aged 0-14 years decreasing to 23.3 per cent compared to 23.5 per cent in 2019.

The overall percentage of those in the 15-64 year group, or the working age, also decreased from 69.8 per cent in 2019 to 69.7 per cent in 2020.

Dr Mohd Uzir said that this was due to the reduction in the size of the country's non-citizen population, which mainly comprised foreign workers.

"The percentage of the population aged 65 years and over, or old age, also increased from 6.7 per cent to 7 per cent over the same period," he said.

At 16.8 million, males continue to outnumber the 15.9 million females, with the sex ratio as a whole nation remaining at 106 males to 100 females in 2020.

Ethnic Indians and Chinese continued to show a decline in the population, while of the 29.7 million citizens, the percentage of bumiputeras (Malays and other indigenous races) rose by 0.3 per cent to 69.6 per cent in 2020, compared to 69.3 per cent in 2019.

"Chinese and Indian populations declined, with the former at 22.6 per cent this year compared to 22.8 per cent in 2019, and 6.9 per cent compared to 6.8 per cent in 2019 for the latter.

"Others remained at 1 per cent," he said.