Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malaysia
Malaysia: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 66.1% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malaysia, 1984–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malaysia is 66.1%, measured in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is down 4.1% on the previous year and down 20.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malaysia peaked at 95.3% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 66.1%, in 2021.
Malaysia ranks 87th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 94.7% | — |
| 1987 | 95.0% | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 95.3% | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 93.6% | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 93.2% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 89.7% | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 90.9% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 89.3% | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 88.2% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 83.1% | -5.8% |
| 2013 | 79.2% | -4.6% |
| 2015 | 74.3% | -6.2% |
| 2018 | 68.9% | -7.2% |
| 2021 | 66.1% | -4.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 95.0% | 94.7% | 95.3% | 3 |
| 1990s | 92.2% | 89.7% | 93.6% | 3 |
| 2000s | 89.5% | 88.2% | 90.9% | 3 |
| 2010s | 76.4% | 68.9% | 83.1% | 4 |
| 2020s | 66.1% | 66.1% | 66.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More poverty & inequality data for Malaysia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malaysia?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malaysia was 66.1% in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 95.3% in 1989.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 66.1% in 2021.
- How does Malaysia rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- Malaysia ranks 87th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $40 per day.