PETALING JAYA: The fertility rate in 2022 has reached its lowest in five decades, with 1.6 children for every woman aged 15-49 years compared with 1.7 children in 2021.
Chief Statistician Uzir Mahidin said that from 1970 to 2012, the national fertility rate was still above the replacement level of 2.1 children, which meant the average number of children born per woman was sufficient to replace herself and her partner.
However, the number started to decline below the replacement level in 2013.
“This declining trend in fertility rate signals the potential for demographic crises such as shrinking population growth, an ageing population, as well as economic and social implications,” Uzir said in a statement.
Malays recorded the highest fertility rate with 2.1 children per woman aged 15-49 years old. Meanwhile, Chinese women had the lowest fertility rate among all ethnic groups with 0.8 children.
At the state level, all states reported fertility rates below the replacement level except for Terengganu (2.9 children), Kelantan (2.7 children), and Pahang (2.1 children).
Developed countries also recorded a downward trend in fertility rates, namely the US (1.7 children), Australia (1.7 children), the UK (1.6 children), Japan (1.3 children), and South Korea (0.8 children).
“Similar trends have also been observed in Asean countries, such as Vietnam (1.9 children), Brunei (1.8 children), Thailand (1.3 children) and Singapore (1.1 children).”
He added that France and the UK had used “increased migration” as a strategy to bolster their population numbers and labour forces, and to mitigate the potential economic and demographic challenges associated with declining fertility rates.
Meanwhile, Malaysia reported 423,124 births in 2022, a decrease of 3.8% (16,620 births) compared with 439,744 births in 2021.
The decline in live births contributed to the decline in the crude birth rate, from 13.5 births in 2021 to 12.9 births per thousand people in 2022.
“All states recorded a decrease in the crude birth rate in 2022 compared with 2021, besides Sabah, which showed an increase from 12.2 (2021) births to 12.8 (2022) births per thousand people.”
Additionally, the number of deaths last year decreased by 8% from 224,569 deaths in 2021 to 206,525 deaths in 2022.
This contributed to a decrease in the crude birth rate from 6.9 (2021) to 6.3 (2022) deaths per thousand people.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the crude birth rate is the ratio between the number of live births in a population during a given year and the total mid-year population for the same year.
“The number of deaths aged 41-59 years old recorded the highest decrease with 20.4% from 52,282 (2021) deaths to 41,640 deaths in 2022.” - FMT
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