Page 66 - AEI Insights 2019 - Vol. 5, Issue 1

AEI Insights, Vol 5, Issue 1, 2019

0-14 years 15-65 years 65-100 years

1990 37.10 % 59.29 % 3.61 %
2015 24.52 % 69.64 % 5.86 %

2040 18,97 % 68.26 % 12.76 %
Table 11: Age Structure of Malaysia, Data from Database Global Political Demography v1_20171006, own
calculations

At the same time the number of people who are older than 65 years, which is relatively low
with 3.6 and 5.8 percent in 1990 and 2015 respectively, will significantly increase until the
year 2040. For that year the UN predicts that 12.86 percent of the Malaysian population will
be older than 65 years old.

Another phenomenon for an ageing population is a rise in the life expectancy. A Malaysian
who was born in 1955 in average reached an age of 55.4 years. This number rose to 60.6 in
1960, 64.9 years in 1970 and 68.1 in 1980. If we analyse the statistics presented in table 12, we
can see the average life expectancy at birth further increased to over 70 years in 1990 and to
about 75 years in 2015. It is expected that it will further grow near the age of 80 years in 2040.

Male Female
1990-95 69.45 73.25

2015-20 73.37 77.92
2040-45 77.41 81.43

Table 12: Life Expectancy at Birth in Malaysia, Data from Database Global Political Demography v1_20171006

In correlation with the rising life expectancy the median age in Malaysia (see table 13) will
further rise. Whereas it was only 21.56 years in 1990, it already grow to 27.68 years in 2015.
For 2040, the UN predicts a further rise up to 37.65 years.

1990 21.56

2015 27.68
2040 37.65

Table 13: Median Age in Malaysia, Data from Database Global Political Demography v1_20171006

The demographic changes in Malaysia can also be depicted in form of population pyramids.
As shown in Figure 8, the form of the pyramid in 1980 is that of a developing country in which
the largest group are children and young people. In 2015, the largest group is that of persons in
working age providing a favourable demographic profile for the labour market. In 2050,
however, the pyramid has more the features of an ageing society.

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