PUTRAJAYA: Children under the age of 18 currently make up 29 per cent or 9.4 million of Malaysia’s population of 32.4 million, and the majority are males.
The number of boys in the country stands at 4.85 million, while girls total 4.55 million, Malaysia’s chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin revealed in a statement yesterday, Bernama reported.
Meanwhile, kids below the age of five comprise 8 per cent, or 2.6 million of Malaysia’s citizenry – and even in this age group, boys outnumber girls.
"The number of male children (1.34 million) is greater than female (1.26 million children)," he said.
Mohd Uzir added that last year, 508,700 births were registered, with 262,600 comprising boys and 246,000 comprising girls.
In terms of education, children enrolled in government and government aided-schools last year numbered 4.8 million.
The most worrying statistic is children’s involvement in crime. Last year, 5,400 Malaysian kids partook in criminal activities – but only 300 of them were girls.