A Short-Term Improvement
Birth rate recovers – but this may not continue
Malaysia’s birth rate has been on a steady long-term decline, reaching a 50-year low in 2022. There was a recent improvement – albeit brief – leading into 2024, which was the Year of the Dragon. In Chinese culture, having a ‘Dragon Baby’ promises prosperity, and encourages new parents to conceive during the year. However, a brief respite cannot overturn the long-term downward trend.
FMCG brands in baby categories need to maximise opportunities among the ‘Dragon Babies’ to avoid missing out. This is because the market will likely see a decline again after the short-term surge.
To analyse the baby FMCG market and track the progression of parents’ purchase behaviours,
Worldpanel by Numerator closely monitors these shoppers and uncovers insights into their behaviour across 14 categories that are exclusively tailored to consumption for the baby. The panel consists of 1,200 shoppers who continuously record their purchases for one child using the Kantar Scope app on their smartphones.
The total fertility rate (TFR) recorded an increase from 1.6 children in 2022 to 1.7 children for every woman aged 15–49 years in 2023. Terengganu recorded the highest TFR with 2.9 children, while Pulau Pinang and W.P. Kuala Lumpur recorded the lowest TFR with 1.3 children per woman aged 15–49 years, respectively.Source: Ministry of Economy Department of Statistics Malaysia, Vital Statistics, 2024
