Live births go down as deaths increased in 2021

The number of live births in Malaysia saw the highest decrease in a decade, with 439,744 recorded for 2021 compared with 471,504 in 2020, according to a report released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) on Thursday.

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the crude birth rate declined from 14.5 births in 2020 to 13.5 births in 2021 per 1,000 population.

“The total fertility rate (TFR) also showed a declining trend with 1.7 babies per woman of childbearing aged 15 to 49 years in 2021 compared with 1.8 babies in 2020,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

The total Fertility Rate (TFR) is a standard demographic indicator used to estimate the average number of children a woman would have over her childbearing age (15–49 years).

Over the last five decades, fertility measured by TFR declined significantly from 4.9 children per woman of childbearing age in 1970 to 1.7 in 2021.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths in Malaysia rose 34.5 per cent to 224,569 in 2021 from 166,970 in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The crude death rate (CDR) also recorded an increase from 5.1 deaths in 2020 to 6.9 deaths in 2021 per 1,000 population, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement.

All age groups recorded an increase in deaths except those aged 0-14, which decreased from 4,288 to 4,115 in 2021.

The deaths for the group aged 41-59 years recorded the highest increase of 44 per cent, rising from 36,318 in 2020 to 52,282 in 2021.

Besides that, the deaths of people aged 15-40 and those aged 60 years and over also increased. The numbers increased from 13,070 to 17,953 and from 113,294 to 150,219, respectively.

The publication of Vital Statistics, Malaysia, 2022 presents births and deaths at national, state and administrative districts for 2021. Demographic indicators, such as birth, death and fertility rates, are also included in this publication.