A guide to how APEC frameworks drive innovation, trade, and prosperity for Malaysians.
Something is shifting in Malaysian households. Fewer couples are walking down the aisle. More marriages are ending in court. And the number of babies born in this country has fallen to a level never seen before. These are not abstract policy numbers — they describe real changes in how Malaysians build families, stay together, and plan their futures.
What most people do not realise is that Malaysia’s experience is not unique. Across APEC’s 21 member economies — from South Korea and Japan to Australia, Thailand, and China — the same pattern is emerging. Populations are ageing, birth rates are collapsing, and the traditional family unit is under economic and social pressure unlike anything seen in the post-war era. In fact, APEC has now formally recognised this as one of the most urgent shared challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region.
This article breaks down what the numbers actually say about the Malaysian family in 2025, how Malaysia compares to its APEC peers, and what policymakers — and ordinary Malaysians — should be paying attention to.
Fewer Malaysians Are Getting Married
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has tracked a clear downward trend in marriages over recent years. In 2018, Malaysia recorded 206,352 marriages. By 2020, that number had dropped to 186,297 — partly due to COVID-19 restrictions — before bouncing back briefly to 215,973 in 2021 as couples who had postponed their weddings finally tied the knot.
But the rebound was temporary. Marriages fell sharply again to 188,614 in 2023, and only recovered marginally to 190,304 in 2024 — a modest 0.9 per cent increase. The Crude Marriage Rate (CMR) has remained flat at 5.6 per thousand population, down from 6.4 in 2018.
The General Marriage Rate (GMR) — a more refined measure that looks at unmarried adults — tells the same story. For grooms, it decreased from 38.3 in 2023 to 37.6 in 2024 per thousand unmarried males aged 18 and over. For brides, it fell from 40.6 to 40.2 per thousand unmarried females aged 16 and over.
Young Malaysians are also marrying later. The median age at first marriage now stands at 29 years for grooms and 27 years for brides. For non-Muslim Malaysians, the median is even higher — 31 for grooms and 29 for brides. Compare this to 1980, when the average age of marriage for Malaysian women was just 23.5 years.
Another striking shift: inter-ethnic marriages collapsed by 53.7 per cent in 2024, falling from 11,751 to just 5,445 cases.
More Marriages Are Ending in Divorce
While marriages stagnate, divorces continue to climb. Malaysia recorded 60,457 divorces in 2024 — a 4.1 per cent increase from 58,095 the year before. The Crude Divorce Rate (CDR) rose to 1.8 per thousand population.
To put this in perspective, here is the divorce trend over seven years:
- 2018: 50,862 divorces (CDR: 1.6)
- 2019: 56,975 divorces (CDR: 1.8)
- 2020: 47,272 divorces (CDR: 1.5)
- 2021: 43,936 divorces (CDR: 1.4)
- 2022: 63,338 divorces (CDR: 1.9)
- 2023: 58,095 divorces (CDR: 1.7)
- 2024: 60,457 divorces (CDR: 1.8)
The 2020 and 2021 dip is largely attributed to court closures during the pandemic rather than happier marriages. Once courts reopened, divorce numbers surged — with 2022 recording a staggering 43.1 per cent year-on-year increase, suggesting a significant backlog of marriages that had effectively ended during lockdowns but could not be formalised until restrictions were lifted.
Muslim divorces accounted for 78.6 per cent of total divorces in 2024, rising 7.3 per cent to 47,577. Non-Muslim divorces, by contrast, declined 6.5 per cent to 12,880. The age group most affected is 30 to 34 years old for both men and women, with the median age at divorce sitting at 38 years for men and 36 years for women.
Why Are More Malaysian Marriages Ending?
The numbers alone do not explain the full picture. Behind the statistics is a combination of economic pressure, shifting social expectations, and reduced stigma around divorce.
Rising living costs — particularly housing, childcare, and education — place enormous strain on dual-income households where both spouses are already stretched thin. Financial disagreements remain one of the most commonly cited triggers in divorce proceedings. At the same time, younger Malaysians increasingly view marriage as a partnership of equals rather than a traditional obligation, and are less willing to remain in relationships that no longer work. The cultural taboo around divorce, while still present, has weakened considerably over the past two decades, particularly in urban centres like KL, Petaling Jaya, and Penang.
Two Legal Systems, One Growing Problem
What many Malaysians — and certainly most outsiders — do not fully appreciate is that Malaysia operates a dual family law system. Muslim marriages and divorces fall under Syariah court jurisdiction, governed by Islamic family law enactments that vary by state. Non-Muslim marriages and divorces are handled by the civil courts under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976.
This dual system means that the legal process, grounds for divorce, rules on child custody, division of matrimonial assets, and maintenance (or nafkah) obligations differ significantly depending on which system applies. For Muslim couples, processes such as talak, khuluk, fasakh, and ta’liq each carry different legal implications. For non-Muslim couples, the distinction between a joint petition (mutual consent) and a single petition (contested divorce) determines how long the process takes and how contentious it becomes.
In both systems, the issues that cause the most pain — and the most prolonged litigation — are child custody and the division of assets. When cases drag on, the financial and emotional cost to both parties escalates, often disproportionately affecting women and children. This is why early legal advice matters. For Malaysians navigating these situations, consulting a divorce lawyer in Malaysia who understands both the legal framework and the human side of family disputes can help avoid unnecessary conflict, protect children’s interests, and reach fair settlements faster.
The Push for Mediation
The Malaysian Bar has publicly expressed concern over the rising numbers. Bar president Datuk Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab stated that the legal profession does not view growing family disputes as a commercial opportunity, but rather as a social challenge with long-term consequences for families and children. Among the Bar’s key recommendations is making family mediation a mandatory first step before litigation, except in cases involving safety or abuse.
This aligns with a broader principle embedded in APEC’s own human capital agenda: that investing in family stability is not a soft social issue — it is an economic one. Every protracted custody battle, every financially devastating divorce, every child caught between two warring parents represents a loss of human potential. If APEC economies are serious about optimising human capital, as Malaysia’s own APEC 2020 theme declared, then strengthening family support systems and legal frameworks is not optional — it is foundational.
Malaysia’s Baby Bust
Perhaps the most alarming statistic is what is happening with births. In Q1 2025, Malaysia recorded just 93,500 live births — an 11.5 per cent drop compared to the same quarter the previous year. This is the lowest figure on record.
Malaysia’s total fertility rate (TFR) now stands at approximately 1.6 children per woman — far below the replacement level of 2.1 needed to sustain the population without immigration. Only three states — Terengganu (2.9), Kelantan (2.7), and Pahang (2.1) — still have fertility rates at or above replacement. Penang and Kuala Lumpur have fallen to just 1.2 children per woman.
The population growth rate has slowed dramatically. In Q4 2025, Malaysia’s population reached 34.3 million, growing at just 0.6 per cent — half the 1.2 per cent rate recorded a year earlier. The proportion of elderly Malaysians (aged 65 and above) has increased from 7.6 per cent to 8.0 per cent, with Perak already exceeding 10 per cent. The median age of the population reached 31.3 years in 2025, up from 30.9 the previous year.
The cost of raising children is a major factor. Estimates suggest that raising a child in Malaysia from pregnancy through university costs between RM400,000 and RM1.1 million. Delivery alone in a private Klang Valley hospital ranges from RM3,000 to RM10,000 for a natural birth and RM6,000 to RM15,000 for a caesarean. Annual childcare costs for dual-income families run between RM22,800 and RM36,000.
This Is an APEC-Wide Crisis
Malaysia is not facing this alone. Across the Asia-Pacific, the demographic picture looks remarkably similar — and in many cases, far worse.
South Korea has the world’s lowest fertility rate at just 1.1. Japan stands at 1.4. Singapore and Thailand have both fallen below replacement. China, despite relaxing its family planning restrictions, has seen birth rates continue to plummet. In June 2024, South Korea declared a national “population emergency” and began holding monthly crisis meetings on fertility policy.
This is why demographic change was elevated to a headline issue at APEC. Under Korea’s chairmanship in 2025, “Responding to Demographic Change in the Asia-Pacific Region” was identified as a key deliverable of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju. The APEC agenda explicitly recognised that ageing populations, shrinking workforces, and declining birth rates represent a structural threat to economic growth across the region.
According to UN ESCAP data, 81.6 per cent of the Asia-Pacific population now lives in countries where the TFR is below the 2.1 replacement level. By 2050, that figure is projected to reach 88.7 per cent. The region’s population aged 80 and above is expected to triple from 91 million today to nearly 279 million by mid-century.
For Malaysia, the implications are serious. The country’s elderly population is projected to rise from around 8 per cent today to 15 per cent by 2030. An ageing population means a smaller tax base funding a larger dependent population — precisely when healthcare and infrastructure demands are growing. Only 58 per cent of Malaysians aged 54 have less than RM100,000 saved in their EPF, far short of the RM240,000 needed to generate even RM1,000 per month in retirement income.
What Does This Mean for Ordinary Malaysians?
The convergence of fewer marriages, rising divorces, and declining births creates a feedback loop that affects nearly every aspect of Malaysian life.
For young Malaysians, the decision to delay or forgo marriage is increasingly driven by economics — housing costs, stagnant wages relative to living expenses, and the sheer financial burden of raising children. These are rational individual decisions, but their collective impact reshapes the demographic trajectory of the entire country.
For families already formed, the rising divorce rate means more Malaysians are navigating questions of child custody, asset division, and spousal support. The Malaysian Bar’s call for mandatory mediation reflects a growing recognition that the family justice system needs reform to handle volume without compounding the human cost.
And for policymakers, the APEC framework provides both a warning and a roadmap. Countries like South Korea, Japan, and several European nations have introduced extended parental leave, subsidised childcare, flexible working arrangements, and financial incentives for families. APEC’s own research suggests that policies making working parents’ lives easier — particularly accessible, high-quality childcare — have the most lasting positive effect on fertility rates.
Malaysia’s challenge is to learn from its APEC peers before the demographic window narrows further. The numbers are not just statistics. They are the story of how Malaysian families are changing — and a signal that the policies we adopt in the next few years will shape the kind of society we live in for decades to come.
Sources:
- Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) — Marriage, Divorce and Rujuk Statistics, Malaysia, 2025
- Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) — Current Population Estimates, Malaysia 2025
- The Star — Malaysian Bar Alarmed at Rising Divorce Cases
- The Korea Herald — Why APEC Economic Leaders Must Confront Demographic Crisis
- UN ESCAP — Asia-Pacific Population and Development Data
- PMC / National Library of Medicine — Low Fertility and Fertility Policies in the Asia-Pacific Region
- OECD — Women, Work, and the Population Puzzle (Public Governance Policy Papers No. 80)