KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 11– Malaysia recorded a total of 44,307 deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 10.1 percent as compared to 40,241 deaths last year, official data showed Wednesday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that a total of 3,898 deaths due to COVID-19 were recorded in the second quarter, a surge from 78 deaths for the same period in 2020.
The data also showed the highest deaths due to COVID-19 were recorded by the age group 65 to 69 years and followed by the age group 70 to 74 years.
Overall, Malaysia’s population in the second quarter was estimated at 32.66 million, up 0.2 percent as compared to 32.58 million in the second quarter of 2020.
The total population comprised 29.96 million (91.8 percent) citizens and 2.69 million (8.2 percent) non-citizens.
The composition of non-citizens declined from 8.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020, due to the closure of national borders and the return of foreigners to their respective countries during the Movement Control Order following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.
Meanwhile, out of the 29.96 million citizens, the ethnic Chinese population composition declined to 22.4 percent from 22.6 percent a year ago.
