PUTRAJAYA: Covid-19 infection was the principal cause of deaths in Malaysia in 2021, with 31,063 deaths recorded out of the total of 157,251 medically certified deaths reported, according to the Statistics Department.
The department said ischaemic heart disease was the second highest cause of deaths with 13.7% followed by pneumonia (11.1%), cerebrovascular diseases (6.5%) and transport accidents (1.9%).
“Covid-19 infection was the main cause of deaths for males and females with 17,708 and 13,355 deaths respectively,” the Statistics Department said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 27).
It said the principal cause of deaths for major ethnic groups in Malaysia in 2021 was also Covid-19 infection with 17.9% of deaths involving Malays, Other bumiputra (18.5%), Chinese (16.3%) and Indians (19.5%).
According to the department, all age groups recorded Covid-19 infection as the leading cause of deaths except for the 0-14 age group, where transport accidents was the main cause.
“Nine states recorded Covid-19 infection as the principal cause of deaths in 2021 except for Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis and Terengganu. These states reported Ischaemic heart disease as the principal cause of deaths.
“Meanwhile, only Putrajaya recorded pneumonia as the principal cause of deaths at 12.4%,” said the Statistics Department. – Bernama