Share living with less than upper middle income poverty line in Malaysia

Malaysia: Share living with less than upper middle income poverty line was 2.87 in 2021. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2021)
2.87
Change on year
down 31.6%
World rank
89th
of 120 countries
All-time high
42.94
in 1987
All-time low
2.87
in 2021
Years of data
14
1984–2021

Share living with less than upper middle income poverty line in Malaysia, 1984–2021

0102030401984200220211984: 42.21987: 42.91989: 42.91992: 39.71995: 38.61997: 29.92003: 30.42006: 24.72008: 24.22011: 14.72013: 7.72015: 5.72018: 4.22021: 2.9

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share living with less than upper middle income poverty line in Malaysia is 2.87, 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, share living with less than upper middle income poverty line in Malaysia peaked at 42.94 in 1987 and was at its lowest, 2.87, 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.

Share living with less than upper middle income poverty line in Malaysia, year by year

Annual values for Share living with less than upper middle income poverty line in Malaysia, 1984 to 2021.
Year Value Change
1984 42.19
1987 42.94 +1.8%
1989 42.86 -0.2%
1992 39.71 -7.3%
1995 38.58 -2.8%
1997 29.91 -22.5%
2003 30.38 +1.6%
2006 24.75 -18.5%
2008 24.24 -2.0%
2011 14.71 -39.3%
2013 7.74 -47.4%
2015 5.71 -26.2%
2018 4.2 -26.5%
2021 2.87 -31.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 42.66 42.19 42.94 3
1990s 36.07 29.91 39.71 3
2000s 26.46 24.24 30.38 3
2010s 8.09 4.2 14.71 4
2020s 2.87 2.87 2.87 1

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 86 Japan 3.3 compare
  2. 87 Lithuania 3.25 compare
  3. 88 Greece 3.17 compare
  4. 90 Latvia 2.78 compare
  5. 91 Belarus 2.64 compare
  6. 92 Spain 2.26 compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More poverty & inequality data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share living with less than upper middle income poverty line in Malaysia?
Share living with less than upper middle income poverty line in Malaysia was 2.87 in 2021, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share living with less than upper middle income poverty line recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 42.94 in 1987.
What is the lowest share living with less than upper middle income poverty line recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 2.87 in 2021.
How does Malaysia rank for share living with less than upper middle income poverty line?
Malaysia ranks 89th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
Is share living with less than upper middle income poverty line 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Share living with less than upper middle income poverty line. 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share living with less than upper middle income poverty line in Malaysia. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://poverty.statizoid.com/stat/share-living-with-less-than-upper-middle-income-poverty-line/malaysia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://poverty.statizoid.com/stat/share-living-with-less-than-upper-middle-income-poverty-line/malaysia/">Share living with less than upper middle income poverty line in Malaysia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share living with less than upper middle income poverty line
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
120 places, 2,148 data points, 1963–2025
Last refreshed