Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Malaysia
Malaysia: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day was 2.9% in 2021. ◆ Volatile
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 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 $8.30 a day in Malaysia is 2.9%, measured in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
That represents a change of down 31.6% on the previous year and down 80.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Malaysia peaked at 42.9% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2021.
That places Malaysia 89th out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 42.2% | — |
| 1987 | 42.9% | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 42.9% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 39.7% | -7.3% |
| 1995 | 38.6% | -2.8% |
| 1997 | 29.9% | -22.5% |
| 2003 | 30.4% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 24.7% | -18.5% |
| 2008 | 24.2% | -2.0% |
| 2011 | 14.7% | -39.3% |
| 2013 | 7.7% | -47.4% |
| 2015 | 5.7% | -26.2% |
| 2018 | 4.2% | -26.5% |
| 2021 | 2.9% | -31.6% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 2.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 21.4%, 13% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 2.9% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 21.3%, 13% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 42.7% | 42.2% | 42.9% | 3 |
| 1990s | 36.1% | 29.9% | 39.7% | 3 |
| 2000s | 26.5% | 24.2% | 30.4% | 3 |
| 2010s | 8.1% | 4.2% | 14.7% | 4 |
| 2020s | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More poverty & inequality data for Malaysia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 $8.30 a day in Malaysia?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Malaysia was 2.9% 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 $8.30 a day recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 42.9% in 1987.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2021.
- How does Malaysia rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day?
- Malaysia ranks 89th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 80.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- 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 $8.30 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 $8.30 per day.