Kuala Lumpur, Oct 17 (IANS): Malaysia's total fertility rate (TFR) for 2022 declined to the lowest in five decades, raising concerns on shrinking population and ageing population in the country.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement on Tuesday that the TFR in 2022 declined to 1.6 children for every woman aged from 15 to 49 years as compared to 1.7 children in 2021, reports Xinhua news agency.

This fertility rate was the lowest in five decades with 4.9 children per woman in 1970.

From 1970 up to 2012, the national TFR was still above the replacement level of 2.1 children, which indicates that the average number of children born per woman throughout her reproductive life has been sufficient to replace herself and her partner.

However, the TFR started to decline below the replacement level from 2013 onwards.

This declining trend in fertility rate is signaling the potential for a demographic crisis such as population growth shrinking, ageing population and economic and social implications.

It is noted that the number of live births in Malaysia was 423,124 births in 2022, a decrease of 3.8 per cent as compared to 439,744 births in 2021.

More male newborns were recorded than females, 218,345 and 204,779, respectively.

The decline in the number of live births has contributed to the decline in the crude birth rate from 13.5 births in 2021 to 12.9 births per thousand population in 2022.

It is also noted that the number of deaths in 2022 was 206,525 deaths, down 8 perc ent as compared to 224,569 deaths in 2021 after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The crude death rate also recorded a decrease from 6.9 deaths per thousand population in 2021 to 6.3 in 2022.