International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) in Malaysia
Malaysia: International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) was 2.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, expenditures in Malaysia, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in % of total imports.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 2.8% for international tourism, expenditures in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 57.0% on the previous year and down 45.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures in Malaysia peaked at 6.5% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 2000.
That places Malaysia 117th out of 186 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % of total imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 3.1% | — |
| 1996 | 3.3% | +6.7% |
| 1997 | 3.4% | +2.3% |
| 1998 | 3.2% | -6.5% |
| 1999 | 3.1% | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 2.7% | -13.8% |
| 2001 | 3.9% | +45.9% |
| 2002 | 3.6% | -7.7% |
| 2003 | 3.5% | -3.3% |
| 2004 | 3.2% | -8.2% |
| 2005 | 3.3% | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 3.5% | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 3.9% | +14.3% |
| 2008 | 4.3% | +9.5% |
| 2009 | 5.0% | +15.0% |
| 2010 | 5.1% | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 5.4% | +5.2% |
| 2012 | 6.1% | +13.9% |
| 2013 | 6.2% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 6.4% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 6.2% | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 6.3% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 6.0% | -3.8% |
| 2018 | 6.0% | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 6.5% | +9.1% |
| 2020 | 2.8% | -57.0% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 2.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.1%, 91% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 2.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.6%, 61% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports) in Malaysia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -57.0% | 6.5% | 2.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.4% | 5 |
| 2000s | 3.7% | 2.7% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.0% | 5.1% | 6.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More private sector data for Malaysia
- Merchandise trade 151.7% (2025)
- Food imports 8.3% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 72.0% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 340.44 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 63.47 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 10.4% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 72.8% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 376.04 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 64.94 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 10,452 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures in Malaysia?
- International tourism, expenditures in Malaysia was 2.8% in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.5% in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 2000.
- How does Malaysia rank for international tourism, expenditures?
- Malaysia ranks 117th out of 186 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, expenditures rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Their share in imports is calculated as a ratio to imports of goods and services, which comprise all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from nonresidents to residents of general merchandise, goods sent for processing and repairs, nonmonetary gold, and services.