More Elderly Malaysians Now, Heavier Burden On Working Adults

The elderly aged 65 and above are expected to form 6.7% of Malaysia’s total population in 2019.

KUALA LUMPUR, August 16 — The number of senior citizens in Malaysia aged 65 and above increased by 100,000 people to 2.19 million in the second quarter this year from the same period last year.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) expected the elderly aged 65 and above to form 6.7 per cent of the total population this year.

“The increase of the elderly population affects the old-age dependency ratio,” said DOSM yesterday, observing that the old-age dependency ratio increased from 9.3 in 2018 to 9.6 this year.

DOSM noted that 42.9 people from the young and old-age populations, comprising 33.3 young and 9.6 old people, were supported by 100 people of the working-age population (15 to 64 years) in 2019.

According to data released by DOSM, Malaysia’s population increased by 0.6 per cent to 32.58 million in Q2 2019, compared to 32.38 million in Q2 2018.

In the second quarter this year, 123,102 live births were recorded, marking a 1.7 per cent decrease from Q2 last year. The number of deaths rose to 42,027 in the second quarter this year from 41,077 in the same period last year, indicating a 2.3 per cent increase.

The 0-14 years age group dropped to 7.6 million in Q2 2019 from 7.71 million in Q2 2018, while the 15-64 years age group increased from 22.58 million to 22.8 million in the same period.

Bernama reported Chief Statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin as saying that the trend was in line with developed nations heading towards an aging population.

According to DOSM, under-five mortality rate was 8.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, while Malaysia recorded an infant mortality rate of 7.2 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.

Life expectancy at birth was 77.3 years for females and 72.2 years for males in 2019.

You may also like