Malaysia‘s total fertility rate (TFR) has dropped below the replacement level, going from 2.1 children per woman in 2010 to 1.6 in 2022, according to an official report to parliament on Friday.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Nancy Shukri explained that this decline is due to later marriages and infertility issues.
The TFR for all major ethnic groups in Malaysia has been decreasing. From 2010 to 2022, the TFR for Malays fell from 2.6 to 2.0 children, for Chinese from 1.5 to 0.8 children, and for Indians from 1.7 to 1.1 children, Shukri said.
“The TFR for Chinese and Indian ethnic groups has been below replacement levels since 2003 and 2002, respectively,” she added.
Shukri stated that the ministry’s National Population and Family Development Board had addressed infertility issues through various initiatives, including affordable fertility treatments, since 1979.
She noted that all married couples are eligible for these treatments, with over 6,000 successful pregnancies recorded as of 2023.
She added that a men’s health and wellness clinic has been set up to address increasing male infertility, offering health screenings, counselling for sexual issues, healthy lifestyle advice, and medications to improve male fertility.
Meanwhile, the current fertility rate for Nigeria in 2024 is 5.009 births per woman, a 1.32% decline from 2023.
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