Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Malaysia
Malaysia: Travel services (% of commercial service imports) was 22.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in Malaysia, 1974–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 22.9% for travel services in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and down 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Malaysia peaked at 36.3% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 2021.
Malaysia ranks 80th of 198 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 52 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 24.0% | — |
| 1975 | 23.3% | -3.0% |
| 1976 | 25.0% | +7.3% |
| 1977 | 24.6% | -1.6% |
| 1978 | 26.1% | +6.1% |
| 1979 | 24.3% | -6.9% |
| 1980 | 25.3% | +4.0% |
| 1981 | 24.5% | -3.0% |
| 1982 | 26.7% | +9.0% |
| 1983 | 27.0% | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 27.5% | +1.5% |
| 1985 | 30.4% | +10.6% |
| 1986 | 34.5% | +13.5% |
| 1987 | 36.3% | +5.4% |
| 1988 | 32.4% | -10.7% |
| 1989 | 29.7% | -8.6% |
| 1990 | 26.9% | -9.3% |
| 1991 | 24.5% | -8.7% |
| 1992 | 24.4% | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 19.6% | -19.7% |
| 1994 | 16.7% | -14.7% |
| 1995 | 15.6% | -6.7% |
| 1996 | 14.8% | -5.5% |
| 1997 | 14.3% | -3.1% |
| 1998 | 13.8% | -3.8% |
| 1999 | 13.5% | -1.9% |
| 2000 | 12.5% | -7.4% |
| 2001 | 15.8% | +26.5% |
| 2002 | 16.1% | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 16.4% | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 16.8% | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 17.1% | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 18.2% | +6.5% |
| 2007 | 19.7% | +8.2% |
| 2008 | 22.3% | +13.5% |
| 2009 | 23.9% | +7.0% |
| 2010 | 25.7% | +7.6% |
| 2011 | 26.7% | +4.0% |
| 2012 | 28.3% | +6.0% |
| 2013 | 27.2% | -3.9% |
| 2014 | 27.6% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 26.8% | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 26.2% | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 25.8% | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 27.4% | +6.1% |
| 2019 | 28.5% | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 14.4% | -49.3% |
| 2021 | 10.0% | -31.0% |
| 2022 | 14.9% | +50.1% |
| 2023 | 21.3% | +42.6% |
| 2024 | 22.7% | +6.6% |
| 2025 | 22.9% | +0.9% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 22.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 23.2%, 99% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 22.9% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 23.4%, 98% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service 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 | -49.3% | 28.5% | 14.4% |
| 2022 | +50.1% | 10.0% | 14.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 24.6% | 23.3% | 26.1% | 6 |
| 1980s | 29.4% | 24.5% | 36.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.4% | 13.5% | 26.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.9% | 12.5% | 23.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.0% | 25.7% | 28.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.7% | 10.0% | 22.9% | 6 |
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 travel services in Malaysia?
- Travel services in Malaysia was 22.9% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 36.3% in 1987.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 2021.
- How does Malaysia rank for travel services?
- Malaysia ranks 80th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of commercial service imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.