Download pdf, 989kb - WHO Western Pacific Region - World Health ...

A Review of Literature and Projects 2005
The distribution of young people in
urban and rural areas from 1995 to
2000 is shown in Figure 5 (10-19 years)
and Figure 6 (20-24 years). There were
more younger adolescents in rural areas
than in urban, but the opposite was true
for older adolescents, who are more
likely to move to towns for higher
education and employment.
The findings on adolescent demography
with respect to the above variables are
useful in formulating further actions to
improve adolescents’ sexual and
reproductive health.
3.1.2. Age at first marriage
The proportion of young people ever
married declined for both males and
females aged 15-24 years between
1970 and 1991 (Figure 7). Age at first
marriage is used as a measure of entry
into sexual activity for both boys and
girls, as well as exposure to risk of
pregnancy and childbirth for girls.
Besides the biological aspect, marriage
also has significant social and economic
repercussions. Marriage includes formal
Figure 6: Distribution by urban-rural areas and gender for the 20-24 age group
Source: Vital statistics Malaysia 2000. Department of Statistics.
21