KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The number of deaths in Malaysia rose 34.5 percent to 224,569 in 2021 from 166,970 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, official data showed Thursday.
The crude death rate (CDR) also recorded an increase from 5.1 deaths in 2020 to 6.9 deaths in 2021 per 1,000 population, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement.
All age groups recorded an increase in the number of deaths except the group aged 0-14 which saw the number decrease from 4,288 to 4,115 in 2021.
The number of deaths for the group aged 41-59 years recorded the highest increase by 44 percent, rising from 36,318 in 2020 to 52,282 in 2021.
Besides that, the number of deaths for people aged 15-40 years, and those aged 60 years and over also recorded an increase, rising from 13,070 to 17,953, and from 113,294 to 150,219, respectively.
Meanwhile, the number of live births in Malaysia was 439,744 in 2021, a decrease of 6.7 percent as compared to 471,504 births in 2020. This was the highest decrease in a decade. ■
