Page 27 - Malaysian Dietary Supplement Industry Status and Outlook Report 2019-2020 Preview

Malaysia is ageing rapidly. By 2030, Figure 1.6: Malaysia Old Age Population by
Malaysia will become an ageing nation, Age Group, Comparison between 2018,
joining the ranks of its Asian 2025 and 2030.

contemporaries such as Singapore, Source: Eigis Analysis (Base Data:
South Korea, and Japan. Department of Statistics Malaysia).

The speed at which Malaysia is ageing is concerning.
According to definition, a country is considered “old” when
15% or more of its population are aged 60 and above.
Population estimates in Malaysia indicate that this may
occur as soon as 2030.

Furthermore, between 2018 and 2030, the population of the
“oldest old” (i.e. population aged 75 and above) will
approximately double in size. This translates to an increase
of nearly 800,000 people—a sizeable number, considering
that Malaysian new births range in the vicinity of just
500,000 or less per year.

The transitioning of a country into ageing status
necessitates new approaches to socioeconomic thinking,
policies, and government initiatives. On the economic front,
labour force is impacted as working-age population begins
to shrink and median working age increases (assuming
immigration of foreign labour does not increase). On the
social support front, spending on national health will
increase significantly, and the burden on increasing national
income either through taxes and/or trade will increase.

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