Page 20 - The Dental Workforce in Malaysia

2 | The Dental Workforce in Malaysia

Malaysia

This study is focused on the South-East Asian country of Malaysia. The
country is made up of three federal territories and thirteen states which
are situated in two different geographical areas: Peninsular Malaysia
and East Malaysia. These areas are separated by the South China Sea
(Ministry of Tourism, 2013, Department of Survey and Mapping
Malaysia, 2013). Malaysia is an upper middle-income country that enjoys
political and economic stability. In this regard, Malaysia has fostered
various collaborations and partnerships with international associations
such as the WHO, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and
others in an effort to improve health (WHO, 2013, Malaysian Dental
Council, 2013).

Demographic profile

In 2018, the estimated population in Malaysia was 32.4 million and the
country had an average annual growth rate of 1.1 per cent (Department of
Statistics Malaysia, 2018). According to the national census, the majority
of Malaysians (79.9%) live in Peninsular Malaysia and the rest in East
Malaysia (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2011).
The Malaysian population is ageing, despite the statistics that
indicate only 6.5% of the population to be aged 65 years and above in
2018 (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2018), the volume of senior
citizens is predicted to increase 11.4% by 2040 (Department of Statistics
Malaysia, 2012). This mimics the ageing population trend experienced
by many other countries (Calache and Hopcraft, 2011, Abi Nahed, 2006,
Arnett and Forde, 2012).
In the meantime, the male to female ratio was 107:100 in 2018 (World
Bank, 2018) and about 89.7 % of the population are Malaysian citizens
coming from a range of many ethnic groups, such as the Bumiputera
(69.1%), Chinese (23.0%), Indians (6.9%) and others (1.0%) (Department
of Statistics Malaysia, 2018). In this regard, it can be observed that the
Malaysian population is young, growing or ageing based on the past and
current trends of local contexts.