KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 – Malaysia recorded a total of 51,635 children asylum-seekers and refugees in 2023, comprising 48.5 per cent girls and 51.5 per cent boys, according to the Statistics on Women Empowerment in Selected Domains 2024 report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The highest number of children asylum-seekers and refugees were from Myanmar with 22,050 girls and 23,395 boys.
Among girls, the second highest number of refugees and asylum seekers came from Pakistan with 997 girls. This is followed by Somalia and Afghanistan with 436 and 422 girls respectively.
After Myanmar, the most number of boys came from Pakistan (1,067), followed by Afghanistan and Somalia with 469 and 441 boys respectively.
For adults in 2023, Malaysia recorded a total of 133,673 asylum-seekers and refugees, comprising 29.3 per cent women and 70.7 per cent men.
The highest adult asylum-seekers and refugees came from Myanmar comprising 32,216 women and 84,782 men.
After Myanmar, the most number of women came from Pakistan (1,788), followed by women from other countries of origin (1,130) and Somalia (1,116).
The second highest number of men came from Pakistan (2,505), followed by Yemen (1,868) and Syria (1,477).
