Malaysia is an attractive country for many investors thanks to its modern society, habits and tastes, fairly high income and consumption. With accurate numbers on its demography, geography, revenues and household expenditures, this overview of the Malaysian market will provide useful marketing insights.
One of the most developed countries of Southeast Asia, Malaysia is well on its way towards becoming a high income nation. It the country succeeds in implementing its ambitious economic plan it will soon become a developed country, raising even more business appetites.
For now, the following data on Malaysia’s population, income and consumption will help marketing minded people evaluate their opportunities in the country.
Malaysia has an estimated population of more than 31 million inhabitants (extrapolated from the 28.3 million counted in the 2010 census ). Malaysians are now predominantly urban, with approximately 75% of Malaysians living in cities .
The country is subdivided into states and federal territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), with states of Peninsular Malaysia regrouping more than two third of the country’s population.
Largest urban areas of Malaysia
The country’s population is primarily regrouped in its largest cities and surrounding areas, both in Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. The following infographic maps these urban areas with details on their population according to the 2010 census.
Here is the detail of these ten urban areas and their constituents’ population as of 2010.
Greater Kuala Lumpur / Klang Valley: 6,071,644
Kuala Lumpur: 1,588,750
Petaling Jaya: 613,977
Shah Alam: 641,306
Selayang: 542,409
Klang: 744,062
Subang Jaya: 708,296
Ampang Jaya: 468,961
Kajang: 795,522
Greater Penang: 2,251,072
Penang Island: 708,127
Seberang Perai: 818,197
Sungai Petani: 443,488
Kulim: 281,260
Johor Bahru / Iskandar Malaysia: 1,277,244
Johor Bahru: 497,067
Johor Bahru Tengah: 529,074
Pasir Gudang: 46,571
Kulai: 234,532
Ipoh: 737,861
Ipoh: 657,892
Batu Gajah: 79,969
Kuching: 715,302
Kuching North: 165,642
Kuching South: 159,490
Padawan: 273,485
Samarahan: 116,685
Greater Kota Kinabalu: 628,725
Kota Kinabalu: 452,058
Penampang: 176,667
Malacca: 484,885 Kuantan: 427,515 Alor Setar: 405,523 Kota Bharu: 314,964
Malaysian population density
The distribution of the Malaysian population is highly uneven. The following density map show how the Malaysians are regrouped in Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo) and their concentration in and around cities.
Estimated population density in Malaysia in 2010 The distribution of the Malaysian population according to age and sex presents a slightly higher percentage of men with 107 males for 100 females. Also extrapolated from the 2010 census, the following data presents the structure of the Malaysian population as of July 2016.
Age and sex in Malaysia in 2016
Age Group Male
Female
Total %
Total 16 430 688 15 288 736 31 719 424 100
0-4 1 327 638
1 250 818
3 248 456 11,20
5-9 1 309 927
1 241 186
2 551 113 10,56
10-14 1 369 302
1 300 113
2 669 415 10,24
Children 5 439 488 4 784 032 10 223 520 32,00
15-19 1 463 994
1 378 483
2 842 477 9,28
20-24 1 594 753
1 465 165
3 059 918 8,96
25-29 1 563 835
1 394 246
2 958 081 8,00
30-34 1 308 467
1 166 723
2 475 190 7,36
35-39 1 053 759
960 059
2 013 818 6,32
40-44 934 835
906 811
1 841 646 6,08
45-49 856 335
828 621
1 684 956 5,36
50-54 770 526
720 213
1 490 739 4,80
55-59 615 538
592 805
1 208 343 4,00
60-64 467 931
457 885
925 816 3,84
Adults 10 404 384 9 780 800 20 185 184 64,00
65-69 327 552
331 695
659 247 1,44
70-74 210 115
217 981
428 096 1,12
75-79 138 582
151 744
290 326 0,40
80-84 66 450
79 233
145 683 0,24
85-89 35 286
45 872
81 158 0,32
90+ 19 402
23 680
43 082 0,48
Seniors 586 976 723 744 1 310 720 4,00
The Malaysian population pyramid, created from the previous data, highlights the discrepancy of men to women. It also shows that Malaysia reached its peaked natality in the early 1990’s. Since then the population has been ageing, as younger generation are now decreasing or stable from the peak of the 20-24 years old generation.
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic society with a majority of “Bumiputera”, ethnies originally from the Malaysian peninsula and Borneo. Bumiputeras are primarily made up of Muslim Malays who represent about 50.7% of the population and other Bumiputeras, made up of various Austronesian ethnic groups representing about 12% of the population.
Malaysia is also home to large minorities of Chinese (21.8%) and Indians (6.6%) with others Malaysians from European and Arabic origins representing a fraction of the population (0.9%). An estimated 2.4 million migrant workers (about 8%), especially working in labor-intensive industries, concentrate in Malaysian Borneo and large urban areas.
The following table sums up the ethnicity of the Malaysian population in the different states and territories, in estimations as of 2015.
Ethnic groups in Malaysian states in 2015
States Total Malay Others Bumiputera Chinese Indians Others Non-Malaysian Citizens
MALAYSIA 30,485,200 15,479,600 3,672,400 6,642,000 2,012,600 267,400 2,411,400
JOHOR 3,553,600
1,893,100
60,900
1,075,100
230,700
16,900
276,900
KEDAH 2,071,900
1,569,100
5,300
263,200
143,200
19,600
71,500
KELANTAN 1,718,200
1,585,900
20,900
54,400
4,800
11,500
40,700
MALACCA 872,900
552,700
11,500
215,000
51,400
4,800
37,600
NEGERI SEMBILAN 1,098,400
621,900
20,700
234,300
154,000
4,200
63,300
PAHANG 1,623,200
1,146,000
83,800
241,600
66,300
7,800
77,700
PENANG 1,663,000
692,400
7,000
689,600
166,000
4,700
103,300
PERAK 2,477,700
1,314,400
72,300
713,000
293,300
10,500
74,200
PERLIS 246,000
210,200
1,200
19,200
3,100
4,700
7,500
SELANGOR 5,874,100
3,069,100
77,500
1,499,400
712,000
41,400
474,700
TERENGGANU 1,153,500
1,092,200
3,500
27,700
3,000
2,500
24,600
SABAH 3,543,500
268,500
1,968,100
311,500
12,200
112,700
870,400
SARAWAK 2,636,000
616,900
1,276,300
602,700
7,900
8,900
123,300
KUALA LUMPUR 1,768,000
729,500
21,500
684,100
163,000
15,200
154,700
LABUAN 96,800
33,900
40,900
10,700
800
1,700
8,800
PUTRAJAYA 88,300
83,800
900
500
900
100
2,100
To illustrate further the geographic distribution of the population, the following map shows the prevalence of the two major ethnic groups in Malaysia. It highlights the percentage of each ethnic group, Bumiputera and Chinese, in the different regions of Malaysia in 2008.
Approximate distribution of Bumiputera and Chinese in Malaysia in 2008 Though Malaysians have speakers of many local and foreign languages, the official language is Bahasa Malaysia English has been an administrative language of Malaysia during the colonial period, it remains an active second language in many areas of Malaysian society. It is taught in public schools as a compulsory subject and is used by many businesses.
Chinese Malaysians often speak Chinese dialects from the southern provinces of China, such as Cantonese , Mandarin , Hokkien , Hakka , Hainanese , and Fuzhou . Tamil is often used by Malaysian Indians who are primarily of Tamil origin.
Islam is the state religion of Malaysia but religious freedom is guaranteed by the constitution. According to the 2010 census figures, ethnicity and religious beliefs are highly correlated and the religions in Malaysia were practiced in the following proportions:
61.3% Islam (primarily Sunni Islam)
19.8% Buddhism
9.2% Christianity
6.3% Hinduism
1.3% Confucianism, Taoism and other traditional Chinese religions
0.7% declared no religion
1.4% other religions or no information
With a high penetration of Internet, Malaysia is one of the most connected countries in Southeast Asia . Its population is well versed in the use of digital technologies and social media , and can therefore be reached through PCs or mobiles devices more easily than in other ASEAN countries.
This is an important dimension to take into account for anyone marketing in the traditional digital services such as travel, e-commerce or finance.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Malaysia had a nominal GDP of 375.6 Billion US $ in 2014. Reported to its population, Malaysia is thus a middle income country with a GDP per capita of 12,127 US $.
However, in Purchasing Power Parity , this figure is much higher at 25,833 US $ per person, due to the relatively lower cost of living in Malaysia. The standard of living is therefore much higher than the nominal figure would let us think.
Nevertheless, the revenue of Malaysians, expressed in GDP per capita, shows vast territorial inequalities. According to the Department of Statistics of Malaysia , the GDP per capita in Kuala Lumpur reached the levels of developed countries at 26,014 US $, but stretched as low as 3,374 US $ in the states with less revenues, such as Kelantan.
Key data into the mind, tastes and habits of Malaysians for all marketers, here is some more information on consumption from the Malaysian department of statistics . This will provide great insights on how much Malaysian consume and what part of their income they devote to specific types of products and services.
As incomes vary between states and rural or urban Malaysians, so does their consumption. The following data presents the differences in monthly household consumption expenditure between rural and urban Malaysia and their evolution over 5 years between 2009 and 2014.
Mean monthly household consumption expenditure
Year 2009 2014 Annual compound growth 2009/2014
Malaysia 2,190 RM
3,578 RM
9.8%
Urban 2,465 RM
3,921 RM
9.3%
Rural 1,599 RM
2,431 RM
8.4%
MYR/USD rate on 31/12/2014: 3.5019
Consumption disparities between Malaysian states
Income inequalities between the different states and territories in Malaysia obviously generate disparities in household consumption. Four states show a mean monthly household expenditure above the country’s average 3,578 RM (1,022 US $): Putrajaya (5,627 RM – 1,607 US $), Kuala Lumpur (5,559 RM – 1,587 US $), Selangor (4,646 RM – 1,327 US $) and Malacca (3,809 RM – 1,088 US $).
This last diagram summarizes the composition of the mean monthly household expenditures in Malaysia in 2014. This key for marketing in Malaysia notably highlights the weight of certain key expenses in the household consumption:
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels: 23.9%
Food and non-alcoholic beverages: 18.9%
Transport: 14.6%
Restaurants and hotels: 12.7%
