2016 fertility rate lowest since 1963
PUTRAJAYA: The national fertility rate in 2016 is the lowest rate ever recorded since the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin revealed.
He said according to the Vital Statistics Malaysia 2017 report, the fertility rate per woman aged 15 to 49 in 2016 was 1.9 babies, a decrease from 2.0 babies in 2015.
“The total fertility rate in Malaysia has been below the replacement level of 2.1 babies, which is the average number of babies born per woman throughout her reproductive life has been insufficient to replace herself and her partner.” he said in a statement here yesterday.
However, he said women aged 30 to 34 years recorded the highest fertility rate in 2016.
On live births, he said the number recorded in 2016 was 508,203 babies, a decrease of 2.5 per cent from 521,136 in 2015.
Mohd Uzir also said the number of deaths recorded in Malaysia in 2016 was 162,201, an increase of 4.1 per cent from 2015.
The report also revealed that Ischaemic heart disease ( heartrelated disease) was the main cause of death in Malaysia in 2015 and 2016, with each recording 13.7 per cent and 13.2 per cent. The second cause was pneumonia 12.5 per cent, followed by cerebrovascular disease ( 6.9 per cent) and cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lungs (2.2 per cent).
Meanwhile, the names Muhammad Harraz Naufal for boys and Ainul Mardiah for girls were the most popular for Bumiputera in 2016. For the Chinese, the names Yu and Xin were the most popular names for boys and girls. — Bernama