In DOSM latest population report, the country’s total population in 2023 was estimated at 33.4 million as compared to 32.7 million in 2022 with an annual population growth rate of 2.1 percent. The increase in population growth rate was due to the higher number of Non-citizens which increased from 2.5 million (2022) to 3.0 million (2023). Citizens, population increased from 30.2 million in 2022 to 30.4 million in 2023 with a marginal growth of 0.7 percent (2022: 0.6%).
The increase in population growth rate also occurred in other countries such as Singapore (3.4%), Australia (1.9%), Germany (1.3%), Canada (0.7%) and the United States of America (0.5%).
Three states namely Sabah (5.1%), W.P. Labuan (2.6%), and Selangor (2.2%) have surpassed the national growth rate of 2.1 per cent. The three states with the highest population composition in 2023 were Selangor (21.6%), followed by Johor (12.3%), and Sabah (10.8%). On the other hand, W.P. Labuan and W.P. Putrajaya recorded the lowest population composition at 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.
COMPOSITION OF POPULATION BY CITIZENSHIP
The composition of Citizens population decreased from 92.4 percent (2022) to 91.1 percent in 2023. This is attributed to the increase in the composition of the Non-citizens population from 7.6 percent to 8.9 percent during the same period. The increase is in line with the re-opening of national borders from 1 April 2022 and the implementation of the Employment Recalibration Programme 2.0 since January 2023.
POPULATION BY SEX
Males outnumbered females in 2023 with 17.5 million and 15.9 million respectively. The sex ratio for the overall population was 110 males for every 100 females. For the period of 2022-2023, the sex ratio for Citizens remained at 103 while Non-citizens declined from 227 to 226 males for every 100 females.
AGE STRUCTURE
The composition of the population aged 15-64 years (working age) increased from 69.6 percent in 2022 to 70.0 percent in 2023. The percentage of the population aged 65 years and over (old age) increased from 7.2 percent to 7.4 percent for the same period. Meanwhile, the composition of the population aged 0-14 years (young age) in 2023 decreased to 22.6 percent as compared to 23.2 percent in 2022.
