Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Malaysia
Malaysia: Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median was 9.4% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median 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 relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Malaysia is 9.4%, measured in 2021.
That represents a change of down 5.1% on the previous year and down 16.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Malaysia peaked at 14.2% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 9.0%, in 2013.
That places Malaysia 29th out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 13.2% | — |
| 1987 | 12.2% | -7.4% |
| 1989 | 11.3% | -7.6% |
| 1992 | 13.2% | +17.1% |
| 1995 | 13.8% | +4.2% |
| 1997 | 14.2% | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 13.1% | -7.4% |
| 2006 | 11.9% | -9.6% |
| 2008 | 13.2% | +11.1% |
| 2011 | 11.3% | -14.0% |
| 2013 | 9.0% | -20.3% |
| 2015 | 9.5% | +5.0% |
| 2018 | 10.0% | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 9.4% | -5.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 12.3% | 11.3% | 13.2% | 3 |
| 1990s | 13.7% | 13.2% | 14.2% | 3 |
| 2000s | 12.7% | 11.9% | 13.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 10.0% | 9.0% | 11.3% | 4 |
| 2020s | 9.4% | 9.4% | 9.4% | 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 relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Malaysia?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Malaysia was 9.4% in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 14.2% in 1997.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.0% in 2013.
- How does Malaysia rank for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median?
- Malaysia ranks 29th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.7%. 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 Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median. 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% of the median.