KUCHING: Sarawak’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has recorded a significant decrease, from 2.76 children in 2001 to 1.69 children in 2023.
Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development (KPWK), Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said this data is based on records from the Sarawak State Health Department (JKNS).
“According to JKNS data, the birth rate in Sarawak has indeed decreased, with the fertility rate in 2001 at 2.76, while the latest record as of 2023 is only 1.69.
“This factor is among the contributors to the significant decline in the birth rate in Sarawak.”
Fatimah said this during the press conference after chairing the Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah (EFS) committee meeting here on Thursday (Nov 28).
Elaborating further, she said that from Jan 1, 2019, to Oct 31, the total number of births in Sarawak with “K” status was 178,574.
“We see from the overall statistics by year based on information from the Sarawak National Registration Department (JPN), the number of births in Sarawak in 2019 was 33,000. In 2020, it decreased slightly to 31,000, followed by 24,000 in 2021, 32,000 in 2022, 33,000 in 2023, and this year, as of October, only 24,000.”
She added that the decline in the birth rate also contributed to the decrease in applications for the EFS, with the average number being around 132,729 or 74 per cent from 2019 to 2024.
“Meanwhile, from Jan 1, 2019, to Oct 31, a total of 124,762 children in Sarawak have had EFS accounts, with a total allocation of RM124.7 million by the Sarawak government.
“Therefore, many efforts need to be made to raise awareness of the EFS to parents in Sarawak with ‘K’ status who are about to or have given birth,” Fatimah stressed, adding that an allocation of RM15 million has been approved by the state government for the EFS in the coming year.
At the same time, she said the EFS committee aims to monitor the management, review and approve anomaly applications, and determine the direction of the EFS initiative.
