KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — The majority of Malaysian youths still aspire to get married and have children, but economic constraints, rising living costs and the challenge of securing stable employment have prompted many to postpone those plans.
National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) chairman Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said an LPPKN Online Public Perception Survey conducted in conjunction with World Population Day 2025, involving 3,625 Malaysians aged 18 and above, found that 90.9 per cent of single respondents intended to get married, while 91.1 per cent hoped to have children in the future.
“Among married respondents, 33.8 per cent intended to have more children, with the average desired family size being 2.8 children.
“However, 17.6 per cent of respondents reported that they were unable to achieve their desired number of children due to insufficient household income, rising living costs, demanding work schedules, fertility issues and health factors,” she said when officiating the national-level World Population Day 2026 at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) today.
Rohani said the findings showed that young people have not turned away from marriage or parenthood and still aspire to start a family, but face economic, employment, cost-of-living, housing and fertility challenges that make it difficult to realise those aspirations.
“The government’s responsibility is to create an environment that enables those aspirations to become a reality,” she said, adding that the findings are consistent with the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) State of World Population 2026 report.
She said the UNFPA report, which surveyed more than 100,000 adults aged between 18 and 39 across 73 countries, found that more than two-thirds of respondents hoped to get married or live with a partner, while about 90 per cent wanted to have at least one child.
To support those aspirations, Rohani said the government, through the Kasih Keluarga Negara and the National Family Action Plan 2026–2030, will continue to focus on strengthening family institutions, promoting family planning, improving parenting quality and enhancing support for families at every stage of life.
“Through LPPKN, various initiatives have been strengthened, including the SmartStart programme, family life education, marriage and family counselling, reproductive and social health education, Klinik Nur Sejahtera services, subfertility treatment, as well as the Fertility Treatment Assistance and Infertility Advocacy (BuAI) to help couples requiring fertility treatment,” she said.
In addition, she said the government continues to strengthen a family-friendly ecosystem through the implementation of 98 days of maternity leave, seven days of paternity leave, the right to request flexible working arrangements, as well as efforts to improve access to housing, quality employment, social protection, healthcare services, and childcare and caregiving facilities. — Bernama