Report & Data Visualisation: Shaza Al Muzayen
Editor: Sakina Mohamed
KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysians aren’t producing enough babies!
Alarming news emerged last year when Malaysia's Department of Statistics (DOSM) revealed that the country's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) had fallen to a historic low of 1.7 births per woman in 2021.
TFR measures the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime.
Data from DOSM showed a consistent downward trend in Malaysia’s TFR over the past few decades. A comparison spanning 40 years (1980-2021) between Malaysia’s TFR with the global average from the World Bank highlights this decline.
Although the global rate has also decreased, it stood at 2.3 births per woman in 2021, still higher than Malaysia's rate. To maintain population stability, Malaysia's TFR must reach at least 2.1 births per woman, the recommended replacement-level fertility rate.
Datuk Dr Maziah Che Yusoff, Secretary General of the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development (KPWKM), addressed the issue during an online speech at the 2022 National Population Conference (PERKKS 22).
"Key factors driving the decline include delayed marriages, resulting in shorter reproductive periods, the preference for smaller families due to financial or health-related issues, and infertility challenges.
“This drop in fertility rates will accelerate the ageing of Malaysia’s population, with projections indicating that by 2030, 15 percent of the population will be 60 years old or older," she noted in a statement reported by Bernama in 2022.
These ongoing demographic shifts could have far-reaching implications for the nation’s future.
An ageing population and shrinking workforce could impact economic growth and strain social services.
There is now a pressing need for the government to introduce initiatives that promote family-friendly policies and financial incentives for childbearing to counteract the trend.
The hope is that these measures will reverse the trend and ensure a balanced demographic profile for Malaysia in the coming decades.
-- BERNAMA