Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Malaysia
Malaysia: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside was 7.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Malaysia, 1967–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Malaysia is 7.4%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 9.5% on the previous year and down 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Malaysia peaked at 7.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 1968.
Malaysia ranks 161st of 206 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 57 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 3.0% | — |
| 1968 | 2.3% | -24.5% |
| 1969 | 2.8% | +24.6% |
| 1970 | 3.8% | +35.7% |
| 1971 | 3.5% | -10.3% |
| 1972 | 3.8% | +10.6% |
| 1973 | 3.5% | -9.5% |
| 1974 | 3.0% | -12.4% |
| 1975 | 2.4% | -20.6% |
| 1976 | 3.5% | +43.6% |
| 1977 | 4.9% | +40.5% |
| 1978 | 4.0% | -18.1% |
| 1979 | 3.1% | -21.7% |
| 1980 | 3.4% | +7.8% |
| 1981 | 3.3% | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 2.7% | -18.2% |
| 1983 | 3.5% | +28.4% |
| 1984 | 2.5% | -29.3% |
| 1985 | 2.5% | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 2.5% | +3.2% |
| 1987 | 2.6% | +3.7% |
| 1988 | 3.6% | +36.1% |
| 1989 | 3.6% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 3.3% | -7.9% |
| 1991 | 2.8% | -14.4% |
| 1992 | 2.8% | -2.7% |
| 1993 | 2.8% | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 2.6% | -5.7% |
| 1995 | 2.7% | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 3.2% | +20.6% |
| 1997 | 3.3% | +4.2% |
| 1998 | 2.5% | -25.1% |
| 1999 | 2.5% | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 2.4% | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 3.4% | +42.0% |
| 2002 | 2.9% | -15.2% |
| 2003 | 2.9% | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 3.5% | +23.5% |
| 2005 | 3.6% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 4.2% | +17.8% |
| 2007 | 5.0% | +18.3% |
| 2008 | 5.6% | +12.9% |
| 2009 | 6.1% | +9.5% |
| 2010 | 6.6% | +7.5% |
| 2011 | 7.1% | +8.4% |
| 2012 | 7.2% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 7.5% | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 7.7% | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 6.5% | -16.3% |
| 2016 | 6.6% | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 7.6% | +16.2% |
| 2018 | 7.2% | -6.3% |
| 2019 | 7.1% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 7.8% | +8.7% |
| 2021 | 7.5% | -3.7% |
| 2022 | 6.8% | -9.5% |
| 2023 | 7.4% | +9.5% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 7.4% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 20.2%, 37% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 7.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.1%, 2.4× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.7% | 2.3% | 3.0% | 3 |
| 1970s | 3.5% | 2.4% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.0% | 2.5% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.0% | 2.4% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.1% | 6.5% | 7.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.4% | 6.8% | 7.8% | 4 |
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)
- Food exports 10.4% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 72.7% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 376.04 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 10,452 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.7964 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 13.69 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Malaysia?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Malaysia was 7.4% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 1968.
- How does Malaysia rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside?
- Malaysia ranks 161st out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 57 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from other low- and middle-income economies in other World Bank regions according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.