The Department of Statistics, in a statement here today, said of the total, 16.4 million were male and 15.3 million were female, with a sex ratio of 107 males per 100 females.

“The Bumiputera ethnic group recorded the highest percentage at 68.6%, followed by Chinese (23.4%), Indians (7%) and others (1%).

“The percentage of non-citizens is recorded at 10.3% out of the total population,” the statement said.

According to the department, the distribution of the population according to age group did not show significant differences compared with last year.

“The proportion of the population below the age of 14 decreased by 0.4% this year to 24.5% compared with 24.9% last year.

“The population of those in the working age of 15 to 64, increased by 0.2% in 2016 to 69.5% compared with last year and the population of those aged 65 and above also increased by only 0.2% to 6% in the same period,” the statement said.

Population distribution by state showed that Selangor was the most populous state with 19.9% this year, followed by Sabah (12%) and Johor (11.5%), while the states with the smallest populations were Putrajaya and Labuan with each recorded 0.3%.