According to the 2020 National Census, Malaysia’s population has risen to 32.4 million people, says Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The census also shows a continued increase in the Bumiputera population in Malaysia, indicating a further drop in the Chinese and Indian populations.
While the proportion of Bumi’s has increased to 69.4%, the Chinese now account for less than 30% of the population.
Although their numbers have increased as the country’s total population has grown, the Chinese now account for only 23.2 per cent of the population.
“Based on ethnicities, the Bumiputera make up the highest percentage with 69.4 per cent, followed by the Chinese (23.2 per cent), the Indians (6.7 per cent), and others (0.7 per cent),” Ismail Sabri said.
In a 2010 census, Malaysia’s population was 28.3 million, of which 67.4 per cent were Bumiputeras while almost 32 per cent were Chinese and Indian.
“The number of Malaysia’s population is now at 32.4 million, with an average increase estimated at 1.7 per cent in 10 years,” said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The PM was speaking during the 2020 census report launching ceremony this morning.
According to the census, 52.3 per cent of the population are male, while 47.4 per cent are female.
Massive drop
The 2020 population census is totally different from the last census conducted before the country became independent.
In 1957 when the country proclaimed its ‘Merdeka’, it had less than 6.3 million people.
The 1957 census was the last to be conducted by the British colonial government. The Federation of Malaya achieved independence on August 31, 1957.
The Chinese population has shrunk proportionally since 1957, when it accounted for about 40% of Malaya’s population, despite increasing threefold in absolute numbers in Malaysia (2.4 million in 1957 to 6.6 million in 2017, including East Malaysia).
However, their numbers are now dwarfed by the fivefold increase in Malays (from around 3.1 million in 1957 to 15.5 million in 2017) according to an entry in Wikipedia.
In 2017, reports said the Malaysian population was growing at a rate of 1.94% per annum.
According to the then-latest projection of the 2010 census, the fertility rates of the 3 largest Malaysian groups were as follows: Malay/Bumiputera: 2.4 children per woman, Chinese: 1.4 children per woman and Indian: 1.8 children per woman. Malay fertility rates are 40% higher than Malaysian Indians and 56% higher than Malaysian Chinese.
Population projections in 2017 show that the Malays and Bumiputeras comprised a total of 68.8% of the total population, Chinese 23.2% and Indians 7.0%.
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