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CPS2269 TEY Nai Peng et al.
regions and sub-groups of the population. Information on the number of
births in small geographical areas is needed for short-term and medium terms
planning in the provision of healthcare and educational services and facilities.
The 2017 Vital Statistics Report shows that the CBR ranged from 4.5 per
thousand population in Kinabatangan to 26.4 in Kuala Terengganu, while the
CDR ranged from 1.0 per thousand population in Kinabatangan to 9.1 in
Kanowit. Interestingly, four of the five districts with the highest CBR are in
Terengganu, and Kinabatangan has registered the lowest CBR and CDR in the
country. The high CBR districts have a relatively young age structure, while
three of the five districts with the lowest CBR have a relatively older age
structure. In the case of Timur Laut, the demographic dominance of the
Chinese also contributed to the low CBR as the community in general has
attained ultra-low fertility. High CDR districts have a high proportion of older
population aged 60 and over, while the reverse is true for the low CDR districts.
This clearly shows that the CBR and CDR are affected by the age structure of
the population. The extremely low level of CBR and CDR in some of these
districts must be interpreted cautiously, as these extreme values could be due
to under-registration or mis-reporting, especially in the remote areas in Sabah
and Sarawak. There is a need for an evaluation of the extent of under-reporting
in these remote areas.
As recently as 2015, the district-level CBR and CDE were not presented in
the vital statistics reports. However, the child-woman ratio by district can be
estimated using data from the population censes to provide an indicator of
the fertility level for each district. A comparison of the child-woman ratio with
the period measures of CBR and total fertility rate by district may throw some
light on the reliability and validity of the district-level fertility rates based on
the vital registration system.

Table 1: Districts with the highest and lowest crude birth rate and crude death rate,
2017
Highest Lowest
Crude birth rate Kuala Terengganu (8.3, 26.4 Kinabatangan (1.3, 23) 4.5
24)
Marang (8.2, 24) 26.0 Putatan (3.9, 24) 5.6
Julau (12.5, 26) 24.7 Pakan (12.6, 28) 6.4
Besut (7.9, 21) 24.5 Hilir Perak (12.6, 28) 8.3
Setiu (8.3, 20) 24.0 Timur Laut (13.0, 33) 8.4
Crude death rate Kanowit (15.6, 30) 9.1 Kinabatangan (1.3, 23) 1.0
Sabak Bernam (11.9, 26) 8.8 Samarahan (5.0, 22) 2.1
Kuala Pilah (14.5, 30) 8.7 Kunak (2.9, 24) 2.1
Pendang (12.6, 27) 8.7 Belaga (6.3, 24) 2.4
Kuala Kangsar (14.2, 28) 8.5 Tongod (3.3, 18) 2.4
Sources: DOSM, Vital Statistics Report, 2018
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