skyline at night in Malaysia

Malaysia Economy

Malaysia's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 407 billion in 2022.

GDP per capita of USD 12,466 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 4.3% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2021, services accounted for 53% of overall GDP, manufacturing 23%, other industrial activity 14%, and agriculture 10%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 58% of GDP in 2021, government consumption 13%, fixed investment 22%, and net exports 7%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2021, manufactured products made up 70% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 12%, food 11%, ores and metals 5% and agricultural raw materials 1%, with other categories accounting for 1% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 67% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 13%, food 9%, ores and metals 6% and agricultural raw materials 2%, with other goods accounting for 3% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 352 billion in 2022, while total imports were USD 294 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 4.3% in the decade to 2022. To read more about GDP growth in Malaysia, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

Malaysia's fiscal deficit averaged 4.2% of GDP in the decade to 2022. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 3.5% in the decade to 2022. For more information on Malaysia's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 1.9% in the decade to 2022. Go to our Malaysia inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

Malaysia's monetary policy rate ended 2022 at 2.75%, down from 3.00% a decade earlier. See our Malaysia monetary policy page for additional details.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2012 to end-2022 the ringgit weakened by 29.5% vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the ringgit, click here.
Advance estimates showed that the economy significantly beat market expectations and grew by 5.8% in annual terms in Q2 (Q1: +4.2% yoy). Preliminary data points to a broad-based improvement in activity. Agricultural output growth reached a multi-year high, manufacturing output rose at the quickest pace since Q3 2022, and the construction and services sectors also gained steam. A tight labor market, government assistance programs and recent visa-free agreements with neighboring countries supported tourist inflows and household budgets, while the global electronics sector upturn boosted manufacturing activity. Turning to Q3, our panel has penciled in a deceleration in GDP growth from Q2 levels. That said, momentum in the tourism, semiconductor and construction sectors likely remains strong.
Projections out to 2033.

52 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 34 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Malaysia in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2033 on 52 economic indicators for Malaysia from a panel of 34 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the Malaysia economy. To download a sample report on the Malaysia's economy, click here. To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page.

Malaysia Economic Data

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Population (million) 32.5 32.4 32.6 32.7 33.1
GDP (USD bn) 365 338 374 408 400
GDP per capita (USD) 11,227 10,405 11,470 12,484 12,090
GDP (MYR bn) 1,513 1,418 1,549 1,794 1,823
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) 4.5 -6.2 9.2 15.8 1.6
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) 4.4 -5.5 3.3 8.9 3.6
Domestic Demand (ann. var. %) 3.9 -4.8 3.8 9.5 4.7
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 7.7 -3.9 1.8 11.3 4.7
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) 1.5 4.1 5.8 5.1 3.3
Fixed Investment (ann. var. %) -2.1 -14.4 -0.7 6.8 5.5
Exports (G&S, ann. var. %) -1.0 -8.6 18.5 14.5 -8.1
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) -2.4 -7.9 21.2 16.0 -7.4
Industrial Production (ann. var. %) 2.4 -4.1 7.4 6.9 0.7
Retail Sales (ann. var. %) 7.0 -2.0 3.5 22.7 5.0
Unemployment (% of active population, aop) 3.3 4.5 4.6 3.8 3.4
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) -3.4 -6.2 -6.4 -5.6 -5.1
Public Debt (% of GDP) 52.4 62.0 63.3 60.2 64.3
Money (ann. var. of M2 %) 3.5 4.5 6.3 4.3 5.9
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, eop) 1.0 -1.4 3.2 3.8 1.5
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, aop) 0.7 -1.1 2.5 3.4 2.5
Inflation (PPI, ann. var. %, aop) -1.4 -2.7 9.5 7.7 -1.9
Overnight Policy Rate (%, eop) 3.00 1.75 1.75 2.75 3.00
3-Month KLIBOR (%, eop) 3.35 1.94 2.05 3.68 3.77
10-Year Bond Yield (%, eop) 3.31 2.65 3.58 4.09 3.73
Stock Market (ann. var. of FTSE BM KLCI %) -6.0 2.4 -3.7 -4.6 -2.7
Exchange Rate (MYR per USD, eop) 4.09 4.02 4.17 4.41 4.60
Exchange Rate (MYR per USD, aop) 4.14 4.20 4.14 4.40 4.56
Current Account Balance (USD bn) 12.8 14.1 14.5 13.0 6.2
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) 3.5 4.2 3.9 3.2 1.5
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) 35.2 43.6 61.2 58.2 47.2
Merchandise Exports (USD bn) 240.2 234.1 299.4 352.2 312.7
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) 205.0 190.5 238.2 294.0 265.5
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) -3.4 -2.5 27.9 17.6 -11.2
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) -6.0 -7.1 25.0 23.4 -9.7
Foreign Direct Investment (USD bn) 7.8 3.2 12.2 16.9 8.7
International Reserves (USD bn) 104 108 117 115 113
International Reserves (months of imports) 6.1 6.8 5.9 4.7 5.1
External Debt (USD bn) 229 228 261 260 272
External Debt (% of GDP) 62.6 67.6 69.8 63.9 68.2

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