| Item type |
Country Statement |
| Subjects |
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health > 612 Human physiology |
| Division/Agency |
LPPKN - National Population and Family Development Board, Malaysia: Population and Family Research Division |
| Keywords |
Population, Fertility, Reproductive health, Malaysian aspect |
| Additional Information |
Statement by Dr. Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur, Secretary General, Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, Malaysia, at the 44th session of the Commission on Population and Development on agenda item 4: general debate on national experience in population matters: fertility, reproductive health and development. |
| Abstract |
Fertility among Malaysian women is declining faster than expected due to the increase in the average age at first marriage for women that has risen from 24.7 years in 1991 to 25.3 in 2004. Malaysia's total fertility rate (TFR) is expected to reach the replacement level by year 2015. With more and more women participating in the labour force and prioritising career development, this has also led to many highly educated women choosing to marry late or not to marry at all.
Malaysia hopes to sustain the current fertility rate and not let it fall below replacement level. Sustaining the current TFR of 2.3 is one of the major challenges that has to be monitored as it can lead to contraction of labour supply, rapid aging of the population and other social implications. |
