PUTRAJAYA – The number of births recorded in Malaysia in the second quarter of 2021 declined 4.4% to 111,573 from the 116,688 logged in the same period a year ago, said the Statistics Department today.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a statement said female babies outnumbered male ones 55,881 to 55,692, with Selangor registering the highest number of live births at 20,389.
“It was anticipated earlier that the Covid-19 lockdown would lead to a baby boom, but the statistics show otherwise.”
The slide in births is in line with other countries including the United States, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France and Spain.
Uzir said 44,307 deaths were recorded in Q2 compared with 40,241 a year ago, making for an increase of 10.1%.
Selangor saw the highest number of deaths at 6,818, while Putrajaya recorded the lowest at 53.
A total of 3,898 deaths in Q2 were due to Covid-19, said Uzir, a jump from the 78 virus fatalities logged in the same period in 2020.
Most of the virus deaths are among those in the 65-69 age group, followed by the 70-74 group, he said.
“Selangor registered the highest number of deaths due to Covid-19 at 1,236, while Putrajaya saw the lowest at four.”
He said the pandemic has not significantly impacted Malaysia’s life expectancy at birth.
“The life expectancy for a baby born in 2021, on average, is 75.6 years. This is 1.3 years longer than a decade ago.”
Based on current estimates, the nation’s population in Q2 is estimated at 32.66 million, an increase of 0.2% on-year from the 32.58 million recorded previously, he said.
The total population comprises 29.96 million citizens, or 91.8%, and 2.69 million (8.2%) non-citizens.
The composition of non-citizens declined from 8.9% in Q2 2020 to 8.2% in the same period this year. – Bernama, August 11, 2021
