PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has more young boys than girls based on population estimates for 2024, says the Statistics Department.
"The number of boys and girls under 18 totals 4.72 million and 4.42 million, respectively.
"Meanwhile, the composition of children under 5 in 2024 is 2.36 million or 6.9% of the total number of children in Malaysia.
"The number of boys and girls under 5 is 1.22 million and 1.14 million, respectively," the nation's chief statistician, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, said in a press statement on Friday (Nov 1).
He said the figures were derived from population estimates for 2024, which put the number of children under 18 at 9.14 million or 26.9% of Malaysia's total population of about 34.06 million.
The department's report on children was based on selected statistics on population, health, education, child protection and children involved in crime.
These statistics are among the indicators used to measure children’s quality of life and well-being, in line with the concepts and guidelines recommended by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).
Mohd Uzir added that Putrajaya recorded the highest percentage of under 18s, with a total of 40.5% of the total population of 0.12 million in Putrajaya.
This was followed by Kelantan (34.0%) and Terengganu (33.2%), while Kuala Lumpur recorded the lowest at 21.6%.
"However, Selangor recorded the highest number of under 18s at 1.83 million, followed by Sabah (1.12 million) and Johor (1.11 million).
"The lowest number of under 18s was recorded in Labuan, which was 0.03 million," he added.
On education, Mohd Uzir said that the number of students in government and government-aided schools in 2023 increased by 4.6% from 4,962,900 students in 2022 to 5,192,600 students last year.
"Meanwhile, the number of students in private schools increased last year by 3.6% to 442,900 students compared to 427,600 students in 2022," he added.
On children's health, Mohd Uzir said pre-natal death among children under 5 was at 36.4%, followed by congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (27.5%), pneumonia (2.6%), road accidents (1.5%) and meningitis (0.7%).
In terms of immunisation, he noted that coverage for infants improved last year.
He said hepatitis B recorded the highest increase, rising by 10.6% to 107.7% last year compared to 97.1% in 2022.
This was followed by polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP), and Haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB), with an increase of 10.5% to 107.7% respectively, compared to 97.2% in 2022. Meanwhile, BCG recorded the lowest increase from 97.7% in 2022 to 98.7% last year.
