ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Malaysia

East Asia & Pacific. Upper middle income. Capital: Kuala Lumpur. Population 35,977,838 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
16,947 26,015 35,083 1995 2025 35,461
GDP growth (%)
−7.0 1.3 9.7 1995 2025 5.2
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
−1.0 2.2 5.3 1995 2025 1.4
Life expectancy at birth (years)
72.1 74.4 76.7 1995 2024 76.8

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 35,461 2025 +6,261 +7,762 64 of 199
GDP growth% 5.2% 2025 +10.6 pp +0.1 pp 46 of 209
GDP per person growth% 3.9% 2025 +10.7 pp +0.7 pp 52 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 12,380 2025 +2,270 +2,030 86 of 201
Trade% of GDP 136.4% 2025 +19.6 pp +5.0 pp 30 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 4.6% 2025 +3.4 pp +1.3 pp 44 of 195
Central government debt% of GDP 64.6% 2024 +12.1 pp +11.9 pp 18 of 48

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 1.4% 2025 +2.5 pp −0.7 pp 137 of 180
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 3.8% 2025 −0.8 pp +0.7 pp 123 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 35,977,838 2025 +2,088,280 +4,745,040 45 of 217
Population growth% annual 1.2% 2025 −0.2 pp −0.6 pp 91 of 217
Urban population% of total 77.4% 2025 +2.3 pp +4.0 pp 68 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 76.8 2024 +0.9 +1.5 86 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 7.0 2024 +0.2 +0.4 138 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 4.0% 2023 +0.2 pp +0.4 pp 156 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 95.8% 2022 +0.7 pp +2.7 pp 27 of 86
Government spending on education% of GDP 3.5% 2023 −1.0 pp −2.0 pp 109 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 98.0% 2024 +13.8 pp +34.4 pp 12 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 100.0% 2024 0.0 pp +0.3 pp 57 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 40.7 2021 * −0.4 −2.9 –
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 0.0% 2021 * −0.1 pp −0.4 pp –

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 7.5% 2021 +3.1 pp +5.3 pp 159 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 30,556 +2.4 17,730 13,961 2,030 +2.5% 72% 62%
GDP growth 4.0% +0.3 3.2% 3.6% 3.7 – – –
GDP per person growth 2.5% +0.4 3.2% 3.4% 3.6 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 10,626 +2.2 7,775 7,690 786 +1.8% 34% 38%
Trade 131.2% +0.7 79.8% 98.8% 8.0 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 3.2% +1.1 2.4% 2.1% 1.2 – – –
Central government debt 56.2% +1.5 48.9% 52.0% 5.6 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 1.9% −0.3 3.3% 2.1% 1.4 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 3.7% +0.1 5.5% 3.0% 0.5 – – –
Population 33,528,111 +1.7 6,549,143 1,418,517 1,444,895 +1.4% 1,228% 1,189%
Population growth 1.5% −1.1 0.5% 0.6% 0.3 – – –
Urban population 75.1% +2.1 65.4% 65.4% 1.1 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 75.5 +1.8 74.5 73.0 0.7 – – –
Infant mortality 6.8 +2.4 11.2 13.9 0.1 – – –
Health spending 3.8% +0.5 6.2% 5.9% 0.2 – – –
Government spending on education 4.5% −1.7 4.1% 4.2% 0.6 – – –
Internet users 84.0% +1.2 82.0% 84.6% 11.5 – – –
Access to electricity 100.0% +0.5 100.0% 100.0% 0.1 – – –
Renewable energy 4.2% +2.1 13.8% 11.4% 1.6 – – –

Compare Malaysia with other countries