KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Bernama) — Life expectancy at birth for Malaysia’s population continues to show an increasing trend in 2025, with babies born this year expected to live an average of 75.3 years, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief Statistician of Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said based on the DOSM’s Abridged Life Tables, Malaysia 2023-2025 publication that was released today, baby girls born in 2025 were projected to live 4.8 years longer at 77.9 years, compared to boys at 73.1 years.
“The highest life expectancy at birth for males and females by state for the period of 2023 to 2025 was recorded in Selangor, while Terengganu recorded the lowest life expectancy for the same period,” he said in a statement today.
Mohd Uzir said four states recorded life expectancy at birth above the national level in 2025, namely Selangor, Sarawak and both the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan.
According to him, Samarahan in Sarawak recorded the highest life expectancy at birth across three consecutive years, 79.8 years (2023), 80.4 years (2024) and 80.9 years (2025). Meanwhile, the lowest was in Kecil Lojing, Kelantan (63.6 years) in 2023, Kuala Penyu, Sabah (66.5 years) in 2024, and Kanowit, Sarawak (66.5 years) in 2025.
“Overall, 30 out of 156 districts surpassed national life expectancy. The life expectancy at birth was highest for males in Kinabatangan, Sabah (79.8 years) and females in Telupid, Sabah (82.8 years),” He added.
The statement said that the publication also highlighted that life expectancy at birth increased by 1.3 years between 2023 and 2025, after recording a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022.
“The Chinese community continues to register the highest life expectancy at birth in the year 2025, with 77.3 years. In contrast, the lowest life expectancy at birth is recorded by Indians, with 71.8 years for the same year. At the state level, life expectancy at birth for Malays and Chinese was the highest in Selangor as compared to other states in 2025,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, males reaching 15 and 60 years of age in 2025 are expected to live until 73.8 years and 78.8 years, respectively, while females of the same ages are projected to live until 78.6 years and 81.6 years, respectively.
In addition, the DOSM also announced that Malaysia would chair the 15th ASEAN Community Statistical System Committee (ACSS15) to strengthen regional statistical cooperation.
According to the statement, the government has designated Oct 20 as National Statistics Day (MyStats Day) with the theme “Statistics is the Essence of Life”, while the Fourth World Statistics Day will also be celebrated worldwide on the same date under the theme “Driving Change with Quality Statistics and Data for Everyone”.
— BERNAMA