KUALA LUMPUR: The number of sexual offences involving children increased by 26.5 per cent last year as compared to 2022.
Data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia showed there were reaching 1,567 cases of sexual offences against children in 2023 as compared to 1,239 cases that were recorded in 2022.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said physical sexual assault on children accounted for the highest number of sexual offences involving children last year with at 1,389 incidents.
This was followed by non-physical sexual assault (91 cases), child pornography (67 cases), sexually communicating with a child (16 cases) and child grooming (4 cases).
The data is part of the Children Statistics Malaysia 2024 report, released today by DOSM based on statistics sourced from the police.
The report also indicated that the number of children in need of care and protection increased by 26.1 per cent to 8,536 in 2023, compared to 6,770 in 2022.
These figures were provided by the Social Welfare Department.
"More girls required care and protection, with 5,418 cases recorded compared to 3,118 boys.
"However, the number of boys in need of care and protection saw a higher increase of 26.4 per cent, compared to a 25.9 per cent increase among girls during the same period," said Uzir.
The report also provided the overall statistics of the population of children in Malaysia, students who attended government-aided schools and children who had been immunised.
He said the number of students in government and government-aided schools in 2023 increased by 4.6 per cent to 5,192,598.
A total of 214,296 children enrolled in preschool, 2,993,784 in primary schools and 1,985,218 in secondary schools.
In terms of immunisation coverage for children, vaccinations for Hepatitis B saw the highest increase last year.
Immunisation coverage for Hepatitis B increased by 10.6 per cent to become 107.7 per cent coverage last year , up from 97.1 per cent in 2022.
This was followed by immunisations for Polio, DTP (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus), and HIB (haemophilus influenzae type B), each increasing by 10.5 per cent to 107.7 per cent, compared to 97.2 per cent in 2022.
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination, which protects a person against tuberculosis showed the smallest increase at 1 per cent, reaching 98.7 per cent in 2023, up from 97.7 per cent in 2022.
Based on data gathered until the middle of 2024, the total number of children under 18 years in Malaysia is 9.14 million, representing 26.9 per cent of the country's total population of 34.06 million.
The number of boys and girls under 18 years is at 4.72 million and 4.42 million, respectively.
The number of children under age five is 2.36 million, or 6.9 per cent of the total child population in Malaysia.
This group includes approximately 1.22 million boys and 1.14 million girls.