Malaysia's population reaches 31.7 million this year

The total population in Malaysia is estimated to have reached 31.7 million, an increase of 0.5 million from 31.2 million last year.

The Department of Statistics in a statement here today said of the total, 16.4 million were male and 15.3 million were female with a sex ratio of 107 males per 100 females.

"Bumiputera ethnic recorded the highest percentage at 68.6 per cent, followed by Chinese (23.4 per cent), Indians (7 per cent) and others (1 per cent).

"The percentage of non-citizens is recorded at 10.3 per cent out of the total population," the statement said.

According to the department, the distribution of the population according to age group did not show significant differences compared to last year.

"The proportion of the population below the age of 14 decreased by 0.4 per cent this year to 24.5 per cent compared to 24.9 per cent last year.

"The population of those in the working age of 15 to 64, had increased by 0.2 per cent in 2016 to 69.5 per cent compared to last year and the population of those aged 65 and above also had increased by only 0.2 per cent to 6 per cent in the same period," the statement said.

Population distribution by state showed that Selangor was the most populous state with 19.9 per cent this year, followed by Sabah (12 per cent) and Johor (11.5 per cent), while the state with the smallest population were Putrajaya and Labuan with each recorded 0.3 per cent.