birth rates in Asia. The population doubled between 1960 and 1990, although population growth began to decline in the 1990s. The decline in population rates could be linked to the socio-economic changes in the economy that tightened the labor market and increased the number of women in the workforce, and the better education of women. Malaysia experienced an inflow of foreign workers employed mainly in the low-skill and low-wage construction and services sectors and in agricultural plantations. The Malaysian government would like to regulate the inflow of illegal migrants, who arrive mainly from neighboring Indonesia, as well as from Bangladesh and Burma, attracted by the geographical proximity and higher wages.