KUALA LUMPUR: More than 15% of the Malaysian diaspora, or 281,429 individuals, are living in four major countries - Australia, United States, United Kingdom and Canada, says the Human Resources Ministry.
According to data from TalentCorp and the World Bank from 2022, the ministry said that the majority of the diaspora consisted of either trained professionals or bachelor's degree holders in key fields such as science, medicine and other technical fields.
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These consist of 138,363 Malaysians living in Australia, 79,827 in the United States, 37,459 in the United Kingdom and the remaining 25,690 in Canada.
“A large portion of those living in all four countries consist of bachelor's degree holders with most in Australia are involved in the professional services sector.
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“Those living in the United States are mostly serving in the management sector, professional services, business, science, and art while those living in the United Kingdom are involved in management, professional services, medicine, and hospitality.
“Meanwhile, many living in Canada are involved in management, professional services, science, medicine, and technical services,” the ministry said in a parliamentary written reply on Monday (Nov 4).
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The ministry noted that Malaysia currently has a migration percentage of 5.6%, which consists of 1.86 million Malaysians who have migrated overseas.
“Detailed information about migration statistics by racial breakdown, country of destination, age, and reasons for migration from 2018 to 2024 are being collected through additional studies as well as various relevant data sources,” the ministry added.
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The ministry was responding to a question from Chow Yu Hui (PH-Raub) who asked on Malaysian migration statistics every year to other countries from 2018 to 2024.
