Kuala lumpur: Malaysia is home to 9.03 million children under the age of 18, representing 26.4 per cent of the total population of 34.23 million, according to the Children Statistics 2025 released by the Department of Statistics (DOSM) today. Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin reported that out of these, 4.66 million are boys and 4.37 million are girls, with children under five years of age totalling 2.31 million.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Putrajaya recorded the highest percentage of children under 18 at 39.9 per cent, followed by Kelantan at 33.5 per cent and Terengganu at 32.9 per cent. Selangor recorded the highest number of children at 1.81 million, while Labuan had the lowest at 0.03 million.

In terms of health, infant immunisation coverage declined in 2024 across all five major immunisations, where coverage for polio; diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) [DTP]; Haemophilus influenzae type b (HIB) and Hepatitis B each fell by 6.1 percentage points, while Bacillus Calmette-Gu©rin (BCG) declined by 0.3 percentage points.

The number of registered Child Care Centres (TASKA) increased by 1.4 per cent to 3,198 in 2024. Johor recorded the highest growth at 29.4 per cent, while Putrajaya experienced the largest decrease at 21.0 per cent. Government and government-aided school enrolment declined by 0.2 per cent, with a 3.0 per cent drop at the upper secondary level. Private school enrolment also decreased by 0.3 per cent, primarily due to a 3.4 per cent decline in kindergarten enrolment.

The number of children in need of care and protection rose by 12.7 per cent to 9,624 cases in 2024. Of these, girls accounted for 6,031 cases, while boys saw a sharper increase of 15.2 per cent compared to 11.3 per cent among girls. On the other hand, the number of children involved in crime decreased by 4.2 per cent to 2,627 cases. Bumiputera children made up the majority at 82.2 per cent, followed by Chinese at 9.0 per cent, Indians at 4.9 per cent, and others at 4.1 per cent.