INTRODUCTION

• The Abridged Life Tables, Malaysia, 2019-2021 presents life tables by age, ethnic group and sex. These life tables are generated based on the mortality statistics for the three-year period and mid-year population estimates of Malaysia.
•  Life table is a table that shows the probability that a person at a certain age will die before reaching his or her next birthday. A life table is prepared from age-specific mortality rates and the derived values are used to measure mortality, survival ratio and life expectancy. 
• The average remaining age (years) for a person is expected to live at the beginning of a certain age if the age-specific death rates of the given period continued throughout his or her lifetime.

LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH

Life Expectancy at Birth Increased by 1.3 Years A Decade Ago

Baby born in 2021 on average is expected to live 1.3 years longer to 75.6 years old as compared to 74.3 years old in 2011.  On average, a newborn girl is expected to live longer up to 78.3 years, while a newborn boy is expected to live until 73.2 years in 2021. From 2011 through 2021, life expectancy at birth for males has increased by 1.1 years, from 72.1 years old (2011) to 73.2 years old (2021), while females increased by 1.5 years as compared to 76.8 years old for the same period.

LIFE EXPECTANCY AT THE AGE OF 15 YEARS OLD 

Females at the Age of 15 Years Old is Expected to Live 5.1 Years Longer

Males and females who reach the age of 15 years old are expected to live another 58.9 and 64.0 years respectively in the year 2021. These indicate that male reach at the age of 15 years is expected to live until the age of 73.9 years and female up to the age of 79.0 years. In 2021, the increase in life expectancy at the age of 15 years was 1.0 years for males and 1.5 years for females as compared to 2011. The gap between life expectancy for males and females in the year 2021 is 5.1 years. 

LIFE EXPECTANCY AT THE AGE OF 60 YEARS OLD

Life Expectancy at the Age of 60 Years Old Increased

Males and females who reach the age of 60 years old are expected to live further 18.9 years and 21.8 years respectively. Thus, males aged 60 years are expected to live until the age of 78.9 years old and females, 81.8 years old. The gaps for males and female’s life expectancy at the age of 60 years old are between 2.2 to 2.9 years for the period of 2011 till 2021.

This situation is in line with the increasing population aged 60 years and over in the past decade. Based on the population estimates for the year 2021, the population age 60 years and over increased from 8.1 per cent or 2.4 million persons (2011) to 3.6 million persons (2021) represents 11.2 per cent of the total population in 2021.

LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH BY MAJOR ETHNIC GROUP

Chinese Continues to Live Longer

The highest life expectancy at birth by major ethnic group was recorded by Chinese with 81.2 years old females and males with 75.9 years old. In contrast, the lowest life expectancy at birth for males was recorded by Indians with 70.2 years old meanwhile for females was recorded by Bumiputera with 77.1 years old. 

LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH BY SEX AND STATE

W.P. Kuala Lumpur Recorded the Highest Life Expectancy

The highest life expectancy at birth among males and females in 2021 was recorded by W.P. Kuala Lumpur with 75.7 years old and 80.5 years old respectively. In contrast, Perlis recorded the lowest life expectancy at birth for both males and females.

In 2021, there are four states with the highest life expectancies for males compared with the national level (73.2 years) namely W.P. Kuala Lumpur (75.7 years), Selangor (75.2 years), Sarawak (74.3 years) and Pulau Pinang (73.5 years). While for females, five states that surpassed the national life expectancy (78.3 years) comprise W.P. Kuala Lumpur (80.5 years), Selangor (79.6 years), Sarawak (79.0 years), Pulau Pinang (78.9 years) and Melaka (78.4 years). [Exhibit 4]

The full publication of the Abdridged Life Tables, Malaysia, 2019-2021 can be downloaded through  eStatistik portal.

Released By:

DATO' SRI DR. MOHD UZIR MAHIDIN
CHIEF STATISTICIAN MALAYSIA
DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS, MALAYSIA
 DrUzir_Mahidin    Dr_Uzir

29 July 2021

Contact person:

Mohd Yusrizal Ab Razak 
Public Relation Officer
Strategic Communication and International Division
Department of Statistics, Malaysia
Tel : +603-8885 7942
Fax : +603-8888 9248
Email : yusrizal.razak[at]dosm.gov.my