Economy - overview:
Malaysia, a middle-income country, transformed itself from 1971 through the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven by exports - particularly of electronics. As a result, Malaysia was hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the information technology (IT) sector in 2001 and 2002. GDP in 2001 grew only 0.5% because of an estimated 11% contraction in exports, but a substantial fiscal stimulus package equal to US $1.9 billion mitigated the worst of the recession, and the economy rebounded in 2002 with a 4.1% increase. The economy grew 4.9% in 2003, notwithstanding a difficult first half, when external pressures from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Iraq War led to caution in the business community. Growth topped 7% in 2004 and 5% in 2005. As an oil and gas exporter, Malaysia has profited from higher world energy prices, although the cost of government subsidies for domestic gasoline and diesel fuel has risen and offset some of the benefit. Malaysia "unpegged" the ringgit from the US dollar in 2005, but so far there has been little movement in the exchange rate. Healthy foreign exchange reserves, low inflation, and a small external debt are all strengths that make it unlikely that Malaysia will experience a financial crisis over the near term similar to the one in 1997. The economy remains dependent on continued growth in the US, China, and Japan - top export destinations and key sources of foreign investment.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$248.7 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$121.2 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
5.2% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$10,400 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 7.2%
industry: 33.3%
services: 59.5% (2005 est.)
Labor force:
10.67 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 14.5%
industry: 36%
services: 49.5% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate:
3.6% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line:
8% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 39.2% (2003 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
49.2 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.9% (2005 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
20.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $30.57 billion
expenditures: $34.62 billion; including capital expenditures of $9.4 billion (2005 est.)
Public debt:
48.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper, timber
Industries:
Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging, timber processing; Sabah - logging, petroleum production; Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging
Industrial production growth rate:
4.8% (2005 est.)
Electricity - production:
79.28 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - consumption:
73.63 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports:
100 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production:
770,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:
510,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports:
230,200 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day
Oil - proved reserves:
3.1 billion bbl (2005 est.)
Natural gas - production:
53.5 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
28.53 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
22.41 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
2.124 trillion cu m (2005)
Current account balance:
$15.35 billion (2005 est.)
Exports:
$147.1 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities:
electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals
Exports - partners:
US 18.8%, Singapore 15%, Japan 10.1%, China 6.7%, Hong Kong 6%, Thailand 4.8% (2004)
Imports:
$118.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities:
electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals
Imports - partners:
Japan 16.1%, US 14.6%, Singapore 11.2%, China 9.9%, Thailand 5.5%, Taiwan 5.5%, South Korea 5%, Germany 4.5%, Indonesia 4% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$78.9 billion (2005 est.)
Debt - external:
$56.72 billion (30 June 2005 est.)
Currency (code):
ringgit (MYR)
Exchange rates:
ringgits per US dollar - 3.8 (2005), 3.8 (2004), 3.8 (2003), 3.8 (2002), 3.8 (2001)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
