Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's population is projected to reach its peak of 42.38 million in 2059, before slowly declining starting 2060, official projections showed Friday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that although the population will continue to increase from 2020 to 2059, the growth rate is expected to decline sharply from 1.7 percent in 2020 to just 0.1 percent in 2060.
Both male and female populations are projected to consistently increase from 2020 to 2060, and the number of males is projected to outnumber females.
Meanwhile, the sex ratio is projected to increase from 110 in 2020 to 114 males per 100 females by 2060.
The population aged 0-14 (young age) is expected to decline from 24 percent in 2020 to 16.0 percent in 2060, while the percentage of the population aged 15-64 (working age) increased from 69.2 percent in 2020 to 70.8 percent in 2030.
Nevertheless, this percentage is projected to decline between 2040 and 2050, and is expected to decrease to 65.7 percent by 2060.
According to the statement, Malaysia became an ageing society in 2021 and is expected to become an aged society by 2048, with the population aged 65 and over exceeding 7 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
