Basically, what that means is there will be more older people as compared to the young ones in the country soon.

According to a report in The Star quoting Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, the population aged 0-14 years has decreased to 23.3% compared to 23.5% in 2019 while the population aged 15-64 years decreased from 69.8% in 2019 to 69.7% in 2020.

Mohd Uzir said that this is due to the reduction in the non-citizens population, which mostly comprises of foreign workers.

He said the percentage of the population aged 65 years and over has also increased from 6.7% to 7% over the same period.

Total population, gender and ethnic group numbers change

On figures of Malaysia’s total population, he said this year it is estimated at 32.7 million compared to 32.5 million in 2019 with an annual growth rate of 0.4%.

Out of the 32.7 million estimated population, 29.7 million were citizens, while three million were non-citizens.

"This is in line with the closure of our national borders and the return of foreigners to their respective countries during the movement control order (MCO) following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide," he said.

On gender, Mohd Uzir said there are more males than females with 16.8 million males and 15.9 million females in the country.