He said the country’s population registered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.7% over a 10-year period.

Malaysians made up 29.8 million or 91.7% of the population while non-citizens totalled 2.7 million or 8.3%, he said when launching the Report on Key Findings of Population and Housing Census 2020 here today.

The prime minister said 52.3% of the population were men and 47.7% women, giving a ratio of 110 men to 100 women.

“The findings of the census also show that women outnumber men in the federal territory of Putrajaya at a ratio of 100 women to 96 men,” he added.

Ismail said Bumiputeras make up 69.4% of the population, followed by Chinese (23.2%), Indians (6.7%) and others (0.7%).

In terms of age groups, the findings show that 6.8% are aged 65 and above, 69.3% are of working age (15 to 64 years) and the balance 24% are categorised as young (0 to 14 years).

“Senior citizens or those aged 60 and above account for 10.4% (3.4 million), compared with 8% (2.2 million) in 2010.

“The young age group shows a drop, from 27.6% in 2010 to 24% in 2020,” he added.

The prime minister said 9.6 million places of residence were recorded, with 8.2 million households having an average size of 3.8 members.

He said the 2020 census would be the new benchmark for the government to draw up policies related to development for the people’s well-being.

It will also serve as a comprehensive input for the implementation of existing policies such as the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, the 12th Malaysia Plan and Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDGs).