Malaysia records 3.6% GDP growth in 2023 amid global challenges
Published on: Friday, August 02, 2024
By: Bernama
The statistics department has reported that Malaysia’s inflation in 2023 eased to 2.5% from 3.3% in 2022.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has demonstrated commendable economic resilience by achieving a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.6% in 2023, according to the statistics department.
It said the achievement was recorded amidst the challenging global economic environment, which includes geopolitical tensions impacting global markets, rising cost of living, and commodity price fluctuations.
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The services sector notably contributed to the growth with a robust performance of 5.1%, counterbalancing the manufacturing sector’s modest growth of 0.7% due to global economic challenges, including supply chain disruptions and fluctuating commodity prices, said chief statistician Uzir Mahidin in a statement today.
He said Malaysia experienced a notable influx of tourist arrivals in 2023, indicating a substantial recovery to 20.1 million tourists compared to 10.1 million tourists in 2022 when global travel restrictions were more stringent due to the pandemic.
Domestic tourism also improved, recording 213.7 million visitors, an increase of 24.6% as against 2022 (171.6 million visitors), he said.
Uzir noted that Malaysia will continue positioning itself as a resilient and attractive destination for global investors in 2023, buoyed by its robust investment performance.
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“The influx of capital not only strengthened Malaysia’s economic resilience, but it also elevated its competitiveness in the global market.
The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) reported that Malaysia secured approved investments of RM329.5 billion in 2023, a 23% increase compared to the previous year’s RM267.8 billion, he said.
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Uzir added that despite facing a challenging global economic environment, Malaysia’s trade surpassed RM2 trillion for the third consecutive year, reaching RM2.64 trillion in 2023, with a trade surplus of RM214.1 billion.
He said Penang, Johor, and Selangor continued to lead as Malaysia’s top exporting states, contributing 31.4%, 20.3%, and 17.7%, respectively, to national exports.
Uzir said Malaysia’s inflation in 2023 eased to 2.5% from 3.3% in 2022.
This was in tandem with the decline in most global commodity prices, the easing of supply disruptions, price controls and the provision of subsidies for selected goods, he said.
Uzir said Malaysia’s estimated population in 2023 was 33.4 million, an increase of 2.1% from 32.7 million recorded in 2022.
He said five states, namely Selangor, Johor, Sabah, Perak, and Sarawak, registered a total population of 19.9 million people, contributing 59.8% to the total population.
“The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased by 0.8 percentage points to 70% in 2023, up from 69.3% in 2022.
This increase was observed across all states compared to the previous year, he added.
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