Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day … 2011 in Malaysia
Malaysia: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day … 2011 was 61.5% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) in Malaysia, 1984–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) in Malaysia is 61.5%, measured in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
That represents a change of down 4.8% on the previous year and down 22.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) in Malaysia peaked at 94.4% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 61.5%, in 2021.
That places Malaysia 87th out of 119 countries with data for 2021, putting it 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 $30 a day … 2011 in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 93.6% | — |
| 1987 | 94.0% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 94.4% | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 92.4% | -2.1% |
| 1995 | 91.9% | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 87.9% | -4.3% |
| 2003 | 89.0% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 87.2% | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 85.8% | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 79.7% | -7.1% |
| 2013 | 75.4% | -5.4% |
| 2015 | 70.0% | -7.1% |
| 2018 | 64.5% | -7.8% |
| 2021 | 61.5% | -4.8% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 61.5% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 95.3%, 64% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 61.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 94.5%, 65% of the median. (10 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 94.0% | 93.6% | 94.4% | 3 |
| 1990s | 90.7% | 87.9% | 92.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 87.3% | 85.8% | 89.0% | 3 |
| 2010s | 72.4% | 64.5% | 79.7% | 4 |
| 2020s | 61.5% | 61.5% | 61.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More poverty & inequality data for Malaysia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 $30 a day (2011 prices) in Malaysia?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) in Malaysia was 61.5% in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 94.4% in 1989.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 61.5% in 2021.
- How does Malaysia rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices)?
- Malaysia ranks 87th out of 119 countries with data for 2021.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices) rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.9%. 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 (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day (2011 prices). 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 $30 per day.