{
  "id": 14618060,
  "title": "Malaysia’s births fall 4.5pc in 2025 as fertility rate drops to 1.5 children per woman",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/malaysias-births-fall-4-5pc-in-2025-as-fertility-rate-drops-to-1-5-14618060",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-15T05:05:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/10/15/malaysias-births-fall-45pc-in-2025-as-fertility-rate-drops-to-15-children-per-woman/239184"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Malaysia saw a 4.5 percent drop in live births in 2025, with the fertility rate falling to 1.5 children per woman, according to a report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia. The country recorded 396,175 live births in 2025, a decline of 18,743 from the previous year's 414,918. The crude birth rate decreased from 12.2 births per 1,000 population in 2024 to 11.6 births per 1,000 population in 2025. The Malays experienced the highest crude birth rate at 14.9 births, while the Chinese had the lowest at 5.0 births. All states observed a decrease in birth rates, with Terengganu recording the highest at 18.7 births per 1,000 population and Penang the lowest at 9.3 births. The total fertility rate also fell from 1.6 children per woman in 2024 to 1.5 in 2025. Malays continued to have the highest TFR at 1.9 children, while the Chinese had the lowest at 0.7 children. The number of deaths increased by 0.4 percent, reaching 199,807 in 2025, with the Chinese having the highest crude death rate at 8.2 deaths.",
  "summary": "PUTRAJAYA, Oct 15 — Malaysia recorded a 4.5 per cent decline in live births in 2025, while the total fertility rat...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Malaysia’s births fall 4.5pc in 2025 as fertility rate drops to 1.5 children per woman",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/malaysias-births-fall-4-5pc-in-2025-as-fertility-rate-drops-to-1-5",
        "published": "2026-10-15T05:05:08.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}