Malaysia Records 198,992 Deaths in 2024, Ischaemic Heart Disease Remains Leading Cause

Malaysia Records 198,992 Deaths in 2024, Ischaemic Heart Disease Remains Leading Cause

PUTRAJAYA, 18 December 2025 — Malaysia recorded a total of 198,992 deaths in 2024, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

• 133,844 deaths (67.3%) were medically certified
• 65,148 deaths (32.7%) were not medically certified

The proportion of medically certified deaths increased from 60.7% (119,652 deaths) to 67.3% (133,844 deaths) in 2024.

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Leading Causes of Death in Malaysia (Medically Certified)

• Ischaemic Heart Diseases: 17,421 deaths (13.0%)
• Pneumonia: 15,332 deaths (11.5%)
• Diabetes Mellitus: 6,929 deaths (5.2%)
• Transport Accidents: 4,428 deaths (3.3%)

Ischaemic Heart Diseases continued to be the main cause of death in Malaysia in 2024.

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Statistics Methodology

The data was published in the Causes of Death Statistics, Malaysia 2025 report using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2022).

Malaysia is among the earliest countries in the Asia-Pacific region to publish cause-of-death statistics using ICD-11.

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Deaths by Gender

• Men: Ischaemic Heart Diseases — 12,112 deaths (15.3%)
• Women: Pneumonia — 6,776 deaths (12.4%)

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Deaths by Ethnicity

• Malay: Ischaemic Heart Diseases — 10,291 deaths (13.9%)
• Indian: Ischaemic Heart Diseases — 2,161 deaths (17.6%)
• Chinese: Pneumonia — 4,231 deaths (12.7%)
• Other Bumiputera: Pneumonia — 1,016 deaths (9.7%)

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Cancer (Neoplasms) Trend

Deaths caused by cancer increased significantly over time:

• 2001: 5,231 deaths
• 2024: 19,180 deaths

Main cancer-related causes in 2024:

• Digestive organ cancers: 5,825 deaths
• Respiratory / intrathoracic cancers: 2,987 deaths
• Breast cancer: 2,173 deaths

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Health & Lifestyle Factors

According to the Ministry of Health Malaysia, Ischaemic Heart Diseases occur when blood vessels become hardened and narrowed due to cholesterol plaque.

Main risk factors include:

• Smoking
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Lack of physical activity
• Increasing age
• Family history

Pneumonia-related deaths were influenced by post-pandemic effects, especially among individuals with weakened immune systems and existing health conditions.

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Deaths by Age Group

• 60 years and above: Pneumonia — 11,989 deaths (13.9%)
• 0–14 years: Pneumonia — 244 deaths (5.6%)
• 15–40 years: Transport accidents — 2,547 deaths (20.0%)
• 41–59 years: Ischaemic Heart Diseases — 5,380 deaths (17.6%)

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Deaths by State

Ischaemic Heart Diseases were the main cause of death in 13 states. Pneumonia was the main cause in Perak, Sabah, and Sarawak.

States with the highest Ischaemic Heart Disease deaths:

• Selangor: 3,038 deaths
• Johor: 2,620 deaths
• Kedah: 2,349 deaths

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Deaths by Administrative District

• Ischaemic Heart Diseases: 79 districts (50.6%)
• Pneumonia: 67 districts (42.9%)
• Diabetes Mellitus: 5 districts
• Kidney Failure: 2 districts
• Heart Failure: 2 districts
• Metabolic Disorders: 1 district

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International Comparison (2023)

• Heart Diseases: United States, Australia
• Cancer: South Korea, Japan, Canada, Singapore
• Dementia & Alzheimer’s: United Kingdom

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Malaysia’s Open Data Achievement

Malaysia ranked 1st globally in the Open Data Inventory (ODIN) 2024/25, surpassing 197 countries. This marked a significant rise from 67th place in 2022/23.

Data access portal: https://open.dosm.gov.my

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Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)

This article is for information and public awareness purposes only.