PETALING JAYA: The sharp decline of Chinese in Malaysia is a growing concern that the Chinese will make up only 21.1% of national population by 2030.

However, 35 years later, the population ratio drops further to 14.8% by 2060 according to Population Projections 2020 -2060 released by the Department of Statistics on July 11.

In contrast, the population of Bumiputra is projected to rise from 71.8% in 2030 to 79.4% in 2060.

The population projection indicates that the ethnic composition of Malaysia is expected to undergo significant changes – a sharp decline in Chinese population and major increase in the ratio of Bumiputra population.

As for the Indians, the ratio is expected to slightly decrease from 6.3% in 2030 to 4.7% in 2060.

Meanwhile, other ethnic groups are projected to see a small increase from 0.8% to 1.0%.

In conjunction with World Population Day 2025, the Department of Statistics released the Population Projections 2020-2060.

Using 2020 as the base year, the report provides a detailed breakdown of expected demographic changes.

It said the population of Malaysia is projected to increase significantly from 32.45 million in 2020 to 42.37 million by 2060.

“The population of Malaysia will continue to grow steadily, reaching an estimated 36.49 million in 2030, 39.78 million in 2040, and 41.79 million in 2050.

“Between 2030 and 2060, the average annual population growth rate is expected to slow to 0.5%, with the population peaking at 42.38 million in 2059,” the report said

Director-General of Department of Statistics, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin stated in a press release on Friday that although the population of Malaysia will continue to grow steadily from 2020 to 2059, the growth rate will slow down drastically—from 1.7% in 2020 to just 0.1% in 2060.

“By 2060, the population is expected to decline from 42.37 million in 2060 to 42.08 million in 2065, and further down to 41.43 million by 2070.”

The report highlights that one possible factor contributing to population decline after 2059 may be due to the worsening of gender imbalance. The gender ratio is expected to shift from 112 males per 100 females in 2030 to 114 males per 100 females in 2060.

“By 2060, the population in Malaysia will consist of 22.5 million males and 19.8 million females,” said the report.