KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 – The female birth rate in the country has slightly exceeded the male birth rate since 2022, according to Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.
In the second quarter of 2024, the female birth rate in the country was marginally higher than the male birth rate at 3.0 births per 1,000 people compared to 2.9 births for every 1,000 male births, he told the Dewan Rakyat in a written reply last October 24.
“The birth rate of people in Malaysia in 2024 is 3.0 births for every 1,000 people,” the minister said.
“The percentage of live births in the second quarter of 2024 recorded a decrease of 10.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2023,” he added.
“The percentage of live births for males decreased more at 10.8 percent compared to 9.6 per cent for females.”
According to figures the minister provided, the total birth rate in the second quarter of 2022 was 2.9 per 1,000 people.
The birth rate increased to 3.4 per 1,000 people in the same period in 2023, before dipping to 3.0 per 1,000 people in the second quarter of this year.
In terms of ethnicity/race, the Malays had the highest birth rates in the second quarters of the last three years at 3.8 births per 1,000 people in 2022, 4.3 births per 1,000 people in 2023, and 3.8 births per 1,000 people in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Chinese had the lowest birth rates in the second quarters of the last three years at 1.2 births per 1,000 people in 2022, 1.6 births per 1,000 people in 2023, and 1.4 births per 1,000 people in 2024.
Rafizi was responding to a question by Kota Bahu MP, Takiyuddin Hassan, who wanted to know the percentage of live births for Malaysians according to gender and race in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2022 and 2023.
He provided detailed breakdowns as follows:
