Excerpts:
“Swee-Hock Saw in his 2007 The Population of Malaysia [Publisher: Institute Of Southeast Asian Studies] expects the Malaysian population to reach a total of some 41 million people by 2035, with natural increase flagging first among the Malaysian Chinese, then among the Malaysian Indians, with the Malays following in behind.
“He doesn’t expect any of these populations to experience negative growth. As a result of this, he expects the percentage of Bumiputra citizens will rise from 65.9% to 2005 to 72.1% in 2035.
“By 1987, the Malays experienced the highest fertility rate in Peninsular Malaysia, while the Chinese had the lowest rate in both countries. It is noted that the Chinese fertility rate in peninsular Malaysia (Malays 4.51, Chinese 2.25, Indians 2.77) is greater than the Malay’s fertility in Singapore (Malays 2.16, Chinese 1.48, Indians 1.95).
“Some of the major differences separating high-fertility Malaysia from low-fertility Singapore was more traditional gender mores, lower incomes, and less urbanization.”
Read more in the blog ‘Demography Matters’.
Demography Matters is a loose network of international demographers, economists, and other social scientists who share a number of ideas in common, including that the current demographic changes occuring across our planet are important, and their consequences insufficiently well understood, by any of us.