About 28.1m residents completed census - chief statistician

A total of 28.1 million or 85.8 percent of the 32.6 million residents in Malaysia have completed the 2020 Malaysia Population and Housing Census, said 2020 Census commissioner Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

Uzir, who is also the chief statistician, said based on census data, 95.2 percent or 26.6 million of those residing in Malaysia are Malaysians while 4.8 percent or 1.4 million are foreigners.

He said several states and federal territories, namely Kelantan, Johor and Putrajaya have nearly completed the census and were in the process of verifying and confirming the information received.

During an online media conference regarding the status of the Malaysia census today, Uzir said the state with the highest census rate is Johor with 104.9 percent.

This is followed by Putrajaya (101.3 percent), Negeri Sembilan (100.4 percent), Kuala Lumpur (99.2 percent), Perlis (95 percent) and Kelantan (93.8 percent).

The remaining states are Perak (93.2 percent), Penang (92.8 percent), Selangor (91.2 percent), Malacca (88.2 percent), Terengganu (88.1 percent), Kedah (84.3 percent), Labuan (78.6 percent), Pahang (69.3 percent), Sarawak (66.6 percent) and Sabah (55.9 percent).

“Factors that might lead to states having rates of above 100 percent include receiving more census forms from our estimates and the movement or migration of residents from one area to another when the census was conducted,” he added.

Uzir said that states that have not achieved a high percentage was not due to uncooperative residents but constraints faced during the Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters.

“The low percentage in Pahang is caused by the floods that hit the state. In Sabah and Sarawak, we had to slow down census work temporarily due to the spike in Covid-19 cases at that time.

“We have obtained the assistance of the state governments and district officers to step up census operations that will end in a month on Oct 31,” he said.

Uzir said the team is confident that the remaining 4.6 million who have not completed the census would be completed by the stipulated time before Oct 31.

“The operation duration for the 2020 Census has been longer, taking over a year than the previous census which took between three to four weeks.

“The longer duration has given the Malaysian Statistics Department to review the data in greater detail and to revisit residences or areas that have completed their census if needed,” he added.

Based on census data, Uzir said the ratio for gender in Malaysia was 104 men to every 100 women, and the male population was currently 51.3 percent compared to the female population of 48.7 percent.

Out of the 28.1 million residents who have completed their census, 25.4 percent were under 15 years old, 69.3 percent were residents of working age (15 to 64 years) and 5.4 percent were 65 years and above.

- Bernama