Covid-19 the leading cause of death in 2021
This was the case for all major ethnic groups and across all age brackets except for those below 14 years old.
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Covid-19 infection was the principal cause of death in Malaysia in 2021, at 31,063 deaths from the total of 157,251 medically certified deaths reported, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
DOSM said ischaemic heart disease was the second highest cause of deaths at 13.7% followed by pneumonia (11.1%), cerebrovascular disease (6.5%) and transport accidents (1.9%).
"Covid-19 infection was the main cause of death for males and females with 17,708 and 13,355 deaths respectively," it added in a statement today.
DOSM said the principal cause of death for major ethnic groups in Malaysia in 2021 was also Covid-19 infection with Malays accounting for 17.9%; other Bumiputeras, 18.5%; Chinese, 16.3%; and Indians, 19.5%.
All age groups recorded Covid-19 infection as the leading cause of death except for 0-14 years, where transport accidents was the main cause.
"Nine states recorded Covid-19 infection as the principal cause of death 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 death at 12.4%," DOSM said.
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