Country Report: Malaysia
Malaysia’s strong current account and FX reserves will safeguard it against external shocks, but high leverage and simmering ethnic tensions remain weak points.
Malaysia GDP and Economic Data
Includes Malaysia real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Malaysia economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Malaysia best banks and safest banks are also available.
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International Reserves
USD 101.4 billion (2018)
International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 999.4 billion (2018, estimate)
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Real GDP growth
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
| 6.3% | 4.8% | -1.5% | 7.5% | 5.3% | 5.5% | 4.7% |
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | ||
| 6% | 5.1% | 4.2% | 5.9% | 4.7% |
*Estimate
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GDP (PPP) - share of world total
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2019* |
| 0.35% | 0.45% | 0.60% | 0.65% | 0.75% |
*Estimate
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 7.7%
- industry: 39%
- services: 52%
(2016 estimate)
Inflation
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 2.1% | 2.1% | 3.8% | 1% | 1% |
*Estimate
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Unemployment rate
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 3.2% | 3.5% | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.4% |
*Estimate
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Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 57% | 55.8% | 54.4% | 55.6% | 56.3% |
*Estimate
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Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| -2.5% | -2.6% | -2.4% | -3.6% | -3% |
*Estimate
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Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: A-
Moody's: A3
Standard & Poor's / Moody's
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Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 359.8 billion | USD 455.8 billion | USD 398.0 billion |
Largest companies
Maybank, Tenaga Nasional, Public Bank, CIMB Group Holdings, Petronas Chemicals, RHB Bank, Hong Leong Financial, Axiata Group, AmBank Group
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Current account balance by percentage of GDP
2.1 % (2018 estimate)
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Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
69.7% (2018)
Shares in world total merchandising export
1.27% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export
0.69% (2018)
Export commodities
Semiconductors and electronic equipment, palm oil, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals, solar panels
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Import commodities
Electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals
Exports - major partners
Singapore 15.1%, China 12.6%, US 9.4%, Japan 8.2%, Thailand 5.7%, Hong Kong 4.5%(2017)
Imports - major partners
China 19.9%, Singapore 10.8%, US 8.4%, Japan 7.6%, Thailand 5.8%, South Korea 4.5%, Indonesia 4.4% (2017)
FDI inflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 11,336 million | USD 9,399 million | USD 8,091 million |
FDI outflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 8,011 million | USD 5,638 million | USD 5,280 million |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 3,904 million | USD 1,758 million | USD -607 million | USD 962 million |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking:
12 out of 190 countries
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 126 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 2 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 4 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 33 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 37 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 2 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 80 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 49 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 35 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 40 out of 190 countries
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Global competitiveness ranking
27 out of 141 countries
(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 22 / Score: 74 (Mostly free)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
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Capital
Kuala Lumpur; note - nearby Putrajaya is referred to as a federal government administrative center but not the capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur
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Government type
Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Languages
Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
Note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan
Religions
Muslim (official) 61.3%, Buddhist 19.8%, Christian 9.2%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 1.3%, other 0.4%, none 0.8%, unspecified 1% (2010 est.)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020* |
| 18.27 million | 23.5 million | 28.59 million | 31.19 million | 33.22 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2018 |
| 26.6% | 42% | 62% | 76% |
Literacy
Total population: 94.6%
Male: 96.2%
Female: 93.2%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day
0.2% (last available estimate, 2015)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
41 (last available estimate, 2015)
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Freedom House rating
Partly Free
Political Rights: 4
Civil Liberties: 4 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
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Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 20.4% Mobile: 134.5% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)