Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 203 KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1957 Population: 29,717,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 3.5% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$10,400 (2012) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 62 Life expectancy: 75 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 9 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: Cardiovascular diseases Government health expenditure: 2.2% of GDP (2012) General information Lying north of the equator in central South-East Asia, above Singapore and south of Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia is separated by about 540 km of the South China Sea from the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, which share the island of Borneo with Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam. Malaysian islands include Labuan, Penang and the Langkawi Islands. The Federation of Malaysia comprises three federal territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan) and 13 states (Sabah, Sarawak and the 11 states of Peninsular Malaysia). The peninsular states are the nine sultanates of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu, plus Melaka and Penang. Climate: Tropical, with heavy annual rainfall and high humidity. The daily temperature range throughout Malaysia is 21–32°C. In Kuala Lumpur, April and May are the hottest months, December the coldest and April the wettest. Environment: The most significant environmental issues are deforestation; air pollution by industrial and motor emissions; water pollution by raw sewage; and smoke or haze from Indonesian forest fires. Population: 29,717,000 (2013); 80 per cent of people live in Peninsular Malaysia, 73 per cent in urban areas and nine per cent in urban agglomerations of more than a million people. The population growth rate stood at 2.1 per cent p.a. between the years 1990 and 2013. In 2012 the birth rate was 18 per 1,000 people (37 in 1970) and life expectancy was 75 years (61 in 1970). The society is multiracial with an estimated 53 per cent Malays, 25 per cent Chinese, 11 per cent indigenous peoples and ten per cent Indians. In Sarawak, the main indigenous peoples – collectively known in that state as the Dayaks – are the Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu; and in Sabah, the Kadazan Dusan, Bajau, Melanaus and Murut. Other ethnic groups in Malaysia include Europeans and Eurasians. Economy: Malaysia is classified as an upper-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: Infant mortality in Malaysia was seven deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of nine deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. There was a consistent decline in the under-five mortality rate from 1990 to 2007; however, the period 2007–13 saw a small increase in this rate. While the slight increase in recent years is a little problematic, the overall decline since 1990 is encouraging. The under-five mortality rate remains close to the country’s target of six deaths per 1,000 live births as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2010 the three most prominent causes of death for children below the age of five years were congenital anomalies (26 per cent), prematurity (24 per cent) and intrapartum-related complications (nine per cent). Other contributory causes were acute respiratory infections (seven per cent), injuries (seven per cent), neonatal sepsis (three per cent), diarrhoea (two per cent) and HIV/AIDS (one per cent). In 2013 Malaysia had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 29 deaths per 100,000 live births (this figure was estimated at 29 deaths per 100,000 by UN agencies/World Bank in 2010). Burden of disease: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for an estimated 73 per cent of all mortality in Malaysia in 2012. The most prevalent NCDs in Malaysia are cardiovascular diseases, which accounted for 36 per cent of total deaths across all age groups in 2012. Cancers, non-communicable variants of respiratory diseases and diabetes contribute 15 per cent, six per cent and three per cent to total mortality, respectively (2012). Injuries accounted for 11 per cent of deaths in 2012. Communicable diseases along with maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions in Malaysia accounted for an estimated 16 per cent of all mortality in 2012. The prevalence of HIV in Malaysia, as a percentage of people aged 15–49 years, was 0.4 per cent in 2012, the highest figure recorded for the country since 1990. There has been an overall reduction in the number of deaths caused by malaria in the country since 2000, while levels of Malaysia
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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