Gini coefficient (before tax) in Malaysia
Malaysia: Gini coefficient (before tax) was 0.4807 in 2022. ▬ Flat
Latest (2022)
0.4807
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
87th
of 113 countries
All-time high
0.5904
in 1997
All-time low
0.4768
in 2016
Years of data
43
1948–2022
Gini coefficient (before tax) in Malaysia, 1948–2022
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 0.4807 for gini coefficient (before tax) in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 11.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gini coefficient (before tax) in Malaysia peaked at 0.5904 in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0.4768, in 2016.
Malaysia ranks 87th of 113 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Gini coefficient (before tax) in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 0.5085 | — |
| 1949 | 0.4973 | -2.2% |
| 1950 | 0.4967 | -0.1% |
| 1951 | 0.4975 | +0.2% |
| 1952 | 0.5048 | +1.5% |
| 1953 | 0.503 | -0.4% |
| 1954 | 0.5092 | +1.2% |
| 1955 | 0.5163 | +1.4% |
| 1956 | 0.5187 | +0.5% |
| 1957 | 0.5229 | +0.8% |
| 1958 | 0.5289 | +1.1% |
| 1959 | 0.5326 | +0.7% |
| 1960 | 0.5383 | +1.1% |
| 1961 | 0.542 | +0.7% |
| 1962 | 0.5408 | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 0.5438 | +0.6% |
| 1964 | 0.5456 | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 0.5463 | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 0.5419 | -0.8% |
| 1967 | 0.5439 | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 0.5474 | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 0.5453 | -0.4% |
| 1970 | 0.5562 | +2.0% |
| 1971 | 0.556 | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.5548 | -0.2% |
| 1973 | 0.5618 | +1.3% |
| 1974 | 0.5601 | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 0.5598 | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 0.5886 | +5.1% |
| 1987 | 0.5784 | -1.7% |
| 1989 | 0.5743 | -0.7% |
| 1992 | 0.5824 | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 0.5876 | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 0.5904 | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 0.5691 | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 0.5704 | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 0.5816 | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 0.5675 | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 0.5456 | -3.9% |
| 2014 | 0.5179 | -5.1% |
| 2016 | 0.4768 | -7.9% |
| 2019 | 0.4768 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.4807 | +0.8% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 0.4807 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.5898, 82% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 0.4807 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.5606, 86% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 0.5029 | 0.4973 | 0.5085 | 2 |
| 1950s | 0.5131 | 0.4967 | 0.5326 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.5435 | 0.5383 | 0.5474 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.5581 | 0.5548 | 0.5618 | 6 |
| 1980s | 0.5804 | 0.5743 | 0.5886 | 3 |
| 1990s | 0.5868 | 0.5824 | 0.5904 | 3 |
| 2000s | 0.5722 | 0.5675 | 0.5816 | 4 |
| 2010s | 0.5043 | 0.4768 | 0.5456 | 4 |
| 2020s | 0.4807 | 0.4807 | 0.4807 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More poverty & inequality data for Malaysia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.55 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,524 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -1.48 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 12.57 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 12.6% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gini coefficient (before tax) in Malaysia?
- Gini coefficient (before tax) in Malaysia was 0.4807 in 2022, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5904 in 1997.
- What is the lowest gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4768 in 2016.
- How does Malaysia rank for gini coefficient (before tax)?
- Malaysia ranks 87th out of 113 countries with data for 2022.
- Is gini coefficient (before tax) rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gini coefficient (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 43 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Gini coefficient measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Inequality is measured here in terms of income before taxes and benefits.