Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of low-income adults by gender and ethnic groups
Variables | Total (N = 2983) | Gender | Ethnicity | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male (n = 1486) | Female (n = 1497) | Malay (n = 1920) | Chinese (n = 485) | Indian (n = 565) | ||
| Â | n (%) | |||||
Age, median years (IQR) | 36 (26–49) | 36 (25–49) | 36 (27–49) | 34 (25–46) | 45 (33–56)* | 36 (24–48) |
Age group, years | ||||||
 ≤ 30 | 1149 (38.5) | 578 (38.9) | 571 (38.1) | 797 (41.5) | 112 (23.1) | 235 (41.6) |
 31–50 | 1211 (40.6) | 587 (39.5) | 624 (41.7) | 778 (40.5) | 208 (42.9) | 219 (38.8) |
 > 50 | 623 (20.9) | 321 (21.6) | 302 (20.2) | 345 (18.0) | 165 (34.0)* | 111 (19.7) |
Gender | ||||||
 Male | 1486 (49.8) | – | – | 958 (49.9) | 253 (52.2) | 271 (48.0) |
 Female | 1497 (50.2) | – | – | 962 (50.1) | 232 (47.8) | 294 (52.0) |
Ethnicity | ||||||
 Malay | 1920 (64.4) | 958 (64.5) | 962 (64.3) | – | – | – |
 Chinese | 485 (16.3) | 253 (17.0) | 232 (15.5) | – | – | – |
 Indian | 565 (18.9) | 271 (18.2) | 294 (19.6) | – | – | – |
 Other | 13 (0.4) | 4 (0.3) | 9 (0.6) | – | – | – |
Marital status | ||||||
 Unmarried | 1035 (34.7) | 586 (39.5) | 449 (30.0) | 675 (35.2) | 124 (25.6) | 230 (40.7) |
 Married | 1812 (60.8) | 849 (57.1)* | 963 (64.3)* | 1177 (61.3) | 325 (67.2)* | 303 (53.6) |
 Divorced/widowed | 135 (4.5) | 50 (3.4) | 85 (5.7) | 68 (3.5) | 35 (7.2) | 32 (5.7) |
Education | ||||||
 Primary school or below | 174 (5.8) | 73 (4.9) | 101 (6.8) | 71 (3.7) | 70 (14.4)* | 32 (5.7) |
 Lower secondary schoola | 367 (12.3) | 174 (11.7)* | 193 (12.9)* | 201 (10.5) | 79 (16.3)* | 87 (15.4) |
 Higher secondary schoolb | 1909 (64.0) | 1009 (67.9)* | 900 (60.1)* | 1289 (67.1) | 256 (52.8) | 357 (63.2) |
 Pre-university or above | 533 (17.9) | 230 (15.5)* | 303 (20.2)* | 359 (18.7) | 80 (16.5) | 89 (15.8) |
Occupation | ||||||
 Government employee | 114 (3.8) | 73 (4.9) | 41 (2.7) | 98 (5.1)* | 4 (0.8) | 12 (2.1) |
 Private sector employee | 1381 (46.3) | 836 (56.3) | 545 (36.5) | 886 (46.2) | 207 (42.7) | 278 (49.2) |
 Self-employed | 404 (13.6) | 241 (16.2) | 163 (10.9) | 274 (14.3) | 65 (13.4) | 65 (11.5) |
 Homemaker/unpaid worker | 479 (16.1) | 23 (1.6)* | 456 (30.5)* | 295 (15.4) | 80 (16.5) | 102 (18.1) |
 Retired/pensioner | 161 (5.4) | 118 (8.0) | 43 (2.9) | 91 (4.8) | 53 (10.9)* | 17 (3.0) |
 Unemployed | 285 (9.6) | 117 (7.9) | 168 (11.2) | 183 (9.6) | 55 (11.3)* | 47 (8.3) |
 Student | 156 (5.2) | 77 (5.2) | 79 (5.3) | 90 (4.7) | 21 (4.3) | 44 (7.8)* |
Average monthly household income (RM) | ||||||
 < 3000 | 1485 (49.8) | 731 (49.2) | 754 (50.4) | 930 (48.4) | 246 (50.7) | 302 (53.5) |
 3000–4999 | 1183 (39.7) | 608 (40.9) | 575 (38.4) | 794 (41.4) | 188 (38.8) | 198 (35.0) |
 ≥ 5000 | 315 (10.6) | 147 (9.9) | 168 (11.2) | 196 (10.2) | 51 (10.5) | 65 (11.5) |
Household number | ||||||
 1–2 person | 347 (11.6) | 178 (12.0) | 169 (11.3) | 198 (10.3) | 85 (17.5)* | 60 (10.6) |
 3–5 person | 2031 (68.1) | 1021 (68.7) | 1010 (67.5) | 1281 (66.7) | 356 (73.4) | 386 (68.3) |
 6–8 person | 561 (18.8) | 270 (18.2) | 291 (19.4) | 408 (21.3)* | 44 (9.1) | 109 (19.3) |
 > 8 person | 44 (1.5) | 17 (1.1) | 27 (1.8) | 33 (1.7) | 0 | 10 (1.8) |