In a statement, Chief Statistician Uzir Mahidin said of that number, 90% were citizens while the rest were non-citizens.
He said the male population picked up from 17.4 million to 17.8 million, whereas females increased from 15.8 million to 16.1 million. The overall gender ratio now stands at 111 males for every 100 females.
Uzir said there was also an increase in Malaysia’s young and working-age populations, with the number of those aged 0 to 14 rising from 7.5 million to 7.7 million, and those aged 15 to 64 increasing from 23.2 million to 23.8 million.
The population of seniors aged 65 and older held steady at 2.5 million.
The nation’s ethnic composition remained largely unchanged, with Malays comprising 57.9% of the population, followed by Chinese (22.6%), Indians (6.6%), and other Bumiputeras (12.2%).
Under the Sabah Bumiputera category, Kadazandusuns made up 2.1% of the population, Bajaus 1.8%, and Muruts 0.3%. Meanwhile, in Sarawak, Ibans accounted for 2.4%, Bidayuhs 0.7%, and Melanaus 0.4%.
Uzir said this quarter also reported a slight decline in live births by 9.4%, totalling 106,386 newborns, with males outnumbering females. The majority of births were recorded in Selangor, the region with the highest number of live births at 18.8%, and the least in Labuan.
The majority of live births were Malays at 68.8%, amounting to 73,136, up from 67.6% in the same period the previous year.
Meanwhile, live births among the Chinese decreased to 8.8% from 9.7%, and for Indians, the figure fell to 3.7% from 4.3%. The percentage of live births for other Bumiputeras saw a slight increase to 12.7% from 12.6% in the first quarter of 2023.
The death rate dropped by 1.5% from the previous year to 47,964, with those 60 and above having the highest death numbers, accounting for 71% of the total.
Malays accounted for 51.4% of total deaths, numbering 24,667, a slight decrease from 51.9% in the same period the previous year. Deaths among the Chinese community went up to 27% from 26.1% in the first quarter of 2023.
The death rate for Indians remained steady at 8.5%, while deaths among other Bumiputeras dropped to 10.4% from 10.8% the previous year.