Demographics of Malaysia
The demographics of Malaysia are represented by the multiple ethnic groups that exist in the country. Malaysia's population, according to the 2010 census, is 28,334,000 including non-citizens, which makes it the 42nd most populated country in the world. Of these, 5.72 million live in East Malaysia and 22.5 million live in Peninsular Malaysia. The population distribution is uneven, with some 79% of its citizens concentrated in Peninsular Malaysia, which has an area of , constituting under 40% of the total area of Malaysia.
Malaysian Chinese
The Chinese population in Malaysia has been consistently declining percentage-wise since Malayan independence, from 37.6% in 1957 to 24.6% in 2010 and 21.4% in 2015. This is partially due to a lower birthrate as well as a high level of emigration in recent decades. According to a report by the World Bank, the Malaysian diaspora around the world in 2010 numbered at around a million, with most of them ethnic Chinese, and the main reasons for emigrating are better economic and career prospects abroad as well as a sense of social injustice within Malaysia. The large number of emigrants, many of whom are young and highly educated, resulted in a significant problem of "brain drain" in Malaysia.