The Statistics Department recorded 102,969 births between January and March, a 10.8% decline from 115,439 in the same period in 2020.

“There is no baby boom in the first quarter of 2021 as anticipated following the movement control order (MCO) due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

He said 53,292 male babies outnumbered the 49,677 females born during the period. Selangor recorded the highest number of births with 19,729, while Labuan recorded the lowest with 368.

Overall, the nation’s population increased by 0.4%, with 32.75 million people in the country, comprising 29.91 million Malaysians and 2.84 million foreigners.

“The composition of the population aged 65 and above increased from 2.26 million to 2.37 million during the same period. This trend is in line with other developed countries that are heading towards an ageing population,” Uzir said in a statement.

He said 43,545 deaths were recorded in the first quarter, including 801 from Covid-19, a 70.1% increase compared to 471 Covid-19 deaths previously.

Current account surplus

In a separate statement, Uzir said Malaysia’s current account balance continued to record a surplus this year, registering RM12.3 billion compared with RM18.6 billion in 2020.

He said foreign direct investments and direct investments abroad also recorded an increase due to the reopening of the global economy. The country’s industrial production index also rose by 3.9%, supported by growth in the manufacturing sector.

“Malaysia’s trade continued to rise, with total trade recording a double-digit increase of 14.8% year-on-year. In line with this, Malaysia’s trade balance surplus remained at RM58.6 billion,” he said.

Based on the positive performance of these key economic indicators, Uzir said, the economy was expected to improve in the second quarter of the year.

However, he noted that prevailing challenges persisted, particularly the labour market and impact of the third MCO.