Source
Central bank

Central Bank of Malaysia

International Reserves

USD 101.4 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019

Gross Domestic Product - GDP

USD 354.3 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)

Intl$ 999.4 billion (2018, estimate)

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

GDP per capita - current prices

USD 10,941.8 (2018, estimate)

GDP per capita - PPP

Intl$ 30,859.9 (2018, estimate)

GDP (PPP) - share of world total
1980 1990 2000 2010 2019*
0.35% 0.45% 0.60% 0.65% 0.75%

*Estimate

 
 
Source
GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 7.7% 
  • industry: 39% 
  • services: 52%

(2016 estimate)

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)

N/A

 

Inflation
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
2.1% 2.1% 3.8% 1% 1%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
3.2% 3.5% 3.4% 3.3% 3.4%

*Estimate

Household saving rates

N/A

 

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

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

Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: A-

Moody's: A3

Standard & Poor's / Moody's 

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

 
 
Source
Current account balance

USD 7.5 billion (2018 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP

2.1 % (2018 estimate)

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)

Total exports

USD 245.6 billion (2018 estimate)

Export commodities

Semiconductors and electronic equipment, palm oil, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals, solar panels

Total imports

USD 218.5 billion (2018 estimate)

 
 
Source
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

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)

 
 
Source
Time zone

UTC+8

Total area

329,847 sq km

Capital

Kuala Lumpur; note - nearby Putrajaya is referred to as a federal government administrative center but not the capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur

Currency

Ringgits (MYR)

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  

 
 
Source
Urban population as % of total population
1960 1980 2000 2018
26.6% 42% 62% 76%
Population median age

28.7 years 

Population growth rate

1.34% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy

75.4 years (2018 estimate)

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)

Freedom House rating

Partly Free
Political Rights: 4
Civil Liberties: 4 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)

Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population

Fixed: 20.4% Mobile: 134.5% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)

Internet users as % of total population

81.2 % (2018)

Mercer Cost of living index

Kuala Lumpur: 141st (2019)

CO2 emissions

8.13 metric tons per capita (2014)

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