KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — Malaysia is expected to become an ageing country by 2030 as the number of those aged 60 years old and above is rising.

Perak leads the country with the highest percentage of residents aged 60 and over at 14.9 per cent, with 9.9 per cent of its population aged 65 or older.

Out of the 34.1 million people Malaysia, 2.6 million people in Malaysia are 65 years old and above, making up 7.7 per cent of the population, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) in its Current Population Estimates 2024 released today.

"Based on the population projection 2010-2040, Malaysia is expected to become an ageing nation in 2030 with the population aged 60 years and over surpassing 15 per cent of the total population.

"In 2024, the population of 60 years and over has increased to 3.9 million (11.6 per cent) as compared to 3.8 million (11.3 per cent) in 2023,” the report said based on The National Senior Citizens Policy (DWEN) and the National Senior Citizens Action Plan (PTWEN).

The United Nations consider a society to be ageing when the number of people aged 65 years old and above makes up 7 per cent of a nation’s population.

Based on DOSM’s calculations, the life expectancy at birth was also estimated to increase by a year in 2023 compared to 2022.

The estimated life expectancy in 2023 is 74.8 years old.

However, not all states in Malaysia are ageing.

Sabah is most populated with youths aged between 15-30 years old with 33.9 per cent, while those aged 14 years old and under dominated Putrajaya’s population with 34.7 per cent from the entire federal territory.