The Malaysian government plans to present a White Paper on the National Ageing Blueprint (NAB) 2025–2045 in parliament later this year, aiming to address demographic shifts, promote sustainable development, and prepare the country for an aged society by 2048.
Speaking in parliament this week, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir explained that the NAB is intended to coordinate strategic measures across federal, ministerial, and state levels, while ensuring the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.
The blueprint focuses on five main areas: macroeconomic and fiscal policy; education; skills and workforce development; lifelong health; and social protection and long-term care, Vietnam Plus reports.
The minister highlighted that the NAB’s core objectives have been incorporated into specific strategies under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) to address the challenges of an ageing population.
Key initiatives include enhancing national productivity and competitiveness, preparing for an aged society, and implementing labour market reforms, such as boosting the participation of older workers, women, and persons with disabilities (PwD).
Mohd Nasir underscored that proactive steps are being taken in response to projections from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), which forecast a sharp drop in the national fertility rate to 0.7 children per woman aged 15-49 by 2050.
He cautioned that this decline from 1.6 children per woman in 2024 will directly shrink the working-age population, potentially limiting Malaysia’s future economic growth.
According to DOSM, Malaysia’s population reached 34.2 million in 2025 and is projected to grow to 36.4 million by 2030 and 38.3 million by 2035.
However, marriage rates have been declining, dropping from 6.6 marriages per 1,000 people in 2022 to 5.7 per 1,000 in 2023.
This trend is likely to shorten reproductive periods, further contributing to lower fertility rates.
Against this backdrop, the Malaysian government views the development of the NAB 2025–2045 as a proactive and essential measure to ready the country for the challenges of an ageing population.