Demographics of Malaysia
Demographics of Malaysia is diverse. It comprises many ethnic groups, with the politically dominant Malays make up the plurality. In 2002, there were 24.5 million people and in 2004, the population grew to 25 million. 5 million Malaysians live in East Malaysia. Malaysian population continues to grow at a rate of 2.4% per annum; about 34% of the population is under the age of 15.
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Malays
Malays are by constitutional definition, according to Article 160 of the Malaysian Constitution, Muslims. These people, combined with indigenous peoples of Malayo-Polynesian origins (e.g. Kadazandusun, Iban, Dayak, Melanau, etc., mainly concentrated in Sabah and Sarawak) are denoted 'bumiputra'. Non-Malay indigenous groups make up more than half of Sarawak's population and about 66% of Sabah's. They are divided into dozens of ethnic groups, but they share some general patterns of living and culture. Until the 20th century, most practiced traditional beliefs, but many have become Christian or Muslim.
Minorities
The second largest ethnic group is Chinese who have historically played an important role in trade and business. Ethnic Indians make up the third largest ethnic group.
There is a small minority crudely grouped and known as the "Others" category which includes Malaysians of, inter alia, European and Middle Eastern descent. Population distribution is uneven, with some 15 million residents concentrated in the lowlands of Peninsular Malaysia, an area slightly smaller than the State of Michigan in the U.S.
There is no general consensus on the ethnic profiling of children of mixed parentage. Some choose to be identified according to paternal ethnicity while others simply think that they fall in the "Others" category. The majority choose to identify as Malay as long as either parent is Malay, mainly due to the legal definition of "Bumiputra". Children of Chinese-Indian parentage are known as Chindians. Though this is not an official category in National Census Data, it is an increasing number especially in urban areas.
Orang Asli
The indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia are known as Orang Asli, which literally means "original man", is a catch all term for a variety of ancient peoples. They number about 60,000, 60 percent jungle dwellers and 40 percent village dwellers, and were the first inhabitants of the area. The most numerous of the Orang Asli are called Negritos and are related to native Papuans in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and possibly even to aborigines in Australia and peoples of East Africa. They came about 8000 years ago, and are nomadic. The next largest is the Senoi, who arrived 6 to 8,000 years ago. Similar to hill tribes in Cambodia and Vietnam, and are shifting cultivators. The rest are proto-Malays, from Sumatra, who arrived about 4000 years ago, and are similar in features to Malays. Some have been known to practice cannibalism and become violent upon sight of outsiders, although some who venture out into the towns and cities have been known to become assimilated with the Malays through marriage.
Population
24,385,858(July 2006 est.)
- Age structure
- 0-14 years: 33% (male 4,067,006/female 3,837,758)
- 15-64 years: 62.4% (male 7,488,367/female 7,447,047)
- 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 490,334/female 622,624) (2005 est.)
Statistics
- Population growth rate: 1.8% (2005 est.)
- Birth rate: 23.07 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
- Death rate: 5.06 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
- Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
- note: does not reflect net flow of an unknown number of illegal immigrants from other countries in the region
- Sex ratio:
- at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
- under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
- total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
- Infant mortality rate: 20.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth:
- total population: 72.24 years
- male: 69.56 years (2002 est)
- female:75.11 years (2002 est.)
- Total fertility rate: 3.07 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Nationality
- Noun: Malaysian(s)
- Adjective: Malaysian
Ethnic groups
| Ethnolinguistics | Population (2005 CE) |
|---|---|
| Abai Sungai | 500 | African | 1,000 | Albanian | 50 | Anglo-American | 11,000 | Anglo-Australian | 20,000 | Anglo-New Zealander | 1,210 | Arab, Malay Speaking | 400,000 | Arab, Others | 12,662 | Arakanese | 12,000 | Bajau | 203,320 | Bajau, Bukit | 1,140 | Bajau, Kagayan | 33,000 | Bajau, West Coastal | 52,000 | Balau | 8,980 | Balinese | 5,065 | Banjarese | 1,187,734 | Bateq | 700 | Bengali, Bangladeshi | 200,000 | Bengali, Malaysian | 101,840 | Bidayuh | 210,000 | Bosniak | 200 | British | 39,594 | Buginese | 718,435 | Burmese | 25,325 | Butonese | 15,195 | Cham | 10,000 | Chechen | 10 | Chin,Myanmarese | 15,000 | Chinese, Baba | 417,673 | Chinese, Cantonese | 1,376,386 | Chinese, Fukienese | 222,441 | Chinese, Guangxi | 186,211 | Chinese, Hainanese | 386,636 | Chinese, Hakka | 1,813,631 | Chinese, Hokchiu | 379,077 | Chinese, Hokkien | 2,021,000 | Chinese, Hoklo | 59,572 | Chinese, Hsiang | 70,446 | Chinese, Hui | 15,000 | Chinese, Mandarin | 973,207 | Chinese, Min Bei | 214,000 | Chinese, Min Dong | 253,248 | Chinese, People's Republic of China | 172,972 | Chinese, Pu Xian | 75,974 | Chinese, Teochew | 989,559 | Eurasian, Malayo-Portuguese | 6,035 | Eurasian, Others | 50,650 | Filipino, Non Tagalog Speakers | 645,783 | German | 2,431 | Gujerati, Bania | Unknown | Gujerati, Bohra | 1,000 | Gujerati, Khoja | Unknown | Gujerati, Others | 25,325 | Hindi | 50,560 | Iban | 650,000 | Indian Citizen | 114,174 | Indonesian (Language) | 253,248 | Japanese | 12,662 | Javanese, Malay Speaking | 1,214,931 | Javanese, Others | 785,069 | Jew | 10 | Kadazan-Dusun | 500,000 | Kanarese | 50,650 | Kayan | 75,000 | Khmer | 11,381 | Malay, Bruneian | 56,000 | Malay, Cocos Islander | 6,197 | Malay, Malaccan | 37,987 | Malay, Negeri Sembilan | 311,000 | Malay, Peninsular, Eastern | 2,100,000 | Malay, Peninsular, Western | 7,579,000 | Malay, Riau | 101,299 | Malay, Sabahan | 126,624 | Malay, Sarawakian | 259,000 | Malay, Tioman Islander | 50,650 | Malayali | 151,949 | Melanau | 34,080 | Minangkabau | 538,826 | Nepali | 208,000 | Pashtun | 5,065 | Penan, Batu | 50 | Punjabi | 101,299 | Sindhi | 25,325 | Sinhalese | 25,325 | Tagalog | 25,325 | Tamil, Jaffna | 23,000 | Tamil, Others | 1,798,062 | Tausug | 192,957 | Telugu | 101,299 | Thai | 25,325 | Urdu | 12,662 | Vietnamese | 83,000 |
Ancestries Claimed by Malaysian Malays
Malaysian Malays are mixed people of various ancetries. Many claims that they have different ancestries from all over Asia.
| Ancestry Claimed | Population |
|---|---|
| Acehnese | 20,000 - 1,000,000 |
| Arab | 500,000 - 1,000,000 |
| Banjarese | 3,000,000 |
| Buginese | 3,500,000 |
| Cham or Khmer | 10,000 - 100,000 |
| Chinese | 217,100 - 500,000 |
| Indian or Pakistani | 200,000 - 1,000,000 |
| Javanese | 1,283,946 - 3,000,000 |
| Minangkabau | 300,000 - 1,000,000 |
| Thai | 200,000 - 1,000,000 |
Religions
Islam (See Islam in Malaysia), Buddhism, Daoism, Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia
Languages
Malay (official), English, Chinese dialects (Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Thai; note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest of which are Iban and Kadazan. The English language in use in official correspondence and examinations is based on British English though there has been much American influence through television. However, English as spoken in Malaysia has been diverging, and is known locally as Manglish. Manglish is very similar to Singlish, the English spoken in Singapore, though the slang terms tend to be different.
Literacy
- Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
- total population: 88.7%
- male: 92%
- female: 85.4% (2002)
Categories
Geography of Malaysia | Demographics by country | Malaysian society