Here is the complete translation of the Malaysian population statistics for 2024:
The latest population statistics for Malaysia in 2024 show that the current total number of ethnic Chinese in Malaysia is 6.9 million, accounting for 22.6% of the population.
Although the Chinese remain the second largest ethnic group in Malaysia, their proportion has decreased to about 20%.
In contrast, Malaysia's Indian population totals approximately 2 million, making up 6.6% of the population.
The largest ethnic group in Malaysia is the Malays, with a total population of 17.7 million, comprising a significant 57.9%, nearly 2.6 times the number of Chinese!
Since Malaysia's independence as the Federation of Malaya in 1957, which is now 67 years ago, the proportion of Chinese has not increased but rather declined.
In 1957, during Malaysia's early years, the Chinese population was around 2 million, accounting for 37.7% of the total population, nearly four in ten.
At the same time, the Malay population was about 3 million, making up nearly 50%.
It can be seen that during the early years of independence, the population gap between the Chinese and Malays was not significant.
However, over time, this gap has widened rapidly, and now it stands at 2.6 times the Malay population!
This clearly illustrates that the growth rate of the Chinese population has lagged far behind that of the Malays over the years, cementing the dominant position of Malays in Malaysian society.
Why has the proportion of Chinese in Malaysia declined so much? The reasons are manifold!
Firstly, Singapore's independence and emigration have had a significant impact on the demographic composition of Malaysian Chinese.
Singapore officially gained independence in 1965, separating from Malaysia.
As a predominantly Chinese nation, Singapore's Chinese population currently accounts for about 74%, reaching as high as 77% in the early days of independence.
After Singapore's independence, nearly a million Chinese left Malaysia, directly causing the proportion of Malaysian Chinese to drop from nearly four in ten to below 30%!
In addition, Singapore's independence triggered a chain reaction, leading to hundreds of thousands of Malaysian Chinese immigrating to Singapore in the following decades.
Singapore's faster economic development compared to Malaysia provided more and better job opportunities, especially during the economic downturn in Malaysia in the 1980s and 1990s, prompting many Chinese to immigrate abroad.
Rough estimates suggest that from Malaysia's independence to 2010, over 1.1 million Malaysian Chinese emigrated abroad!
Considering that the baseline Chinese population was only around 2 million at the time of independence, this figure is sufficient to illustrate the direct impact of emigration on the proportion of Chinese.
Apart from external factors, the low birth rate among Malaysian Chinese is also a significant factor contributing to their declining proportion!
The birth rate among Malaysian Chinese is generally lower, a trend that has persisted over the past few decades.
Compared to Malays, the birth rate among Chinese is less than half.
Furthermore, the Chinese birth rate has declined over time, as seen in population data from 1911 to 2010, where the proportion of Chinese has been consistently decreasing.
The declining birth rate among Malaysian Chinese reflects several underlying reasons.
Firstly, the Chinese community's higher economic status prioritizes the quality of education for their children over quantity.
Secondly, delayed marriage is common among the Chinese community, leading to postponed childbearing and thus lower birth rates.
Lastly, changes in the perceptions of the younger generation towards children have also influenced birth rates; they are more inclined to have fewer or no children.
Among Malaysia's ethnic groups, the Chinese not only face challenges from external factors such as emigration but also internal factors, especially the low birth rate, which has gradually reduced their proportion in Malaysian society.
Meanwhile, Malays maintain a relatively higher birth rate, maintaining their dominant position in the demographic composition.
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