Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Malaysia

Malaysia: Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad was 14.23 billion current US$ in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
14.23 billion current US$
Change on year
up 16.8%
World rank
28th
of 199 countries
All-time high
14.23 billion current US$
in 2024
All-time low
2.16 billion current US$
in 1998
Years of data
30
1995–2024

Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Malaysia, 1995–2024

2.5B5.0B7.5B10.0B12.5B15.0B1995200920241995: 2.7B current US$1996: 3.0B current US$1997: 3.2B current US$1998: 2.2B current US$1999: 2.4B current US$2000: 2.5B current US$2001: 3.4B current US$2002: 3.3B current US$2003: 3.4B current US$2004: 3.8B current US$2005: 4.3B current US$2006: 5.1B current US$2007: 6.6B current US$2008: 7.7B current US$2009: 7.2B current US$2010: 9.3B current US$2011: 11.1B current US$2012: 13.2B current US$2013: 13.4B current US$2014: 13.9B current US$2015: 11.6B current US$2016: 11.3B current US$2017: 12.1B current US$2018: 13.2B current US$2019: 13.7B current US$2020: 5.2B current US$2021: 3.8B current US$2022: 7.5B current US$2023: 12.2B current US$2024: 14.2B current US$

Source: UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in current US$.

Analysis

The most recent figure for spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Malaysia is 14.23 billion current US$, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 16.8% on the previous year and up 2.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Malaysia peaked at 14.23 billion current US$ in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.16 billion current US$, in 1998.

That places Malaysia 28th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Malaysia, year by year

Annual values for Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Malaysia, 1995 to 2024.
Year current US$ Change
1995 2.72 billion current US$ —
1996 3.03 billion current US$ +11.4%
1997 3.16 billion current US$ +4.2%
1998 2.16 billion current US$ -31.6%
1999 2.38 billion current US$ +10.3%
2000 2.54 billion current US$ +6.8%
2001 3.39 billion current US$ +33.3%
2002 3.33 billion current US$ -1.8%
2003 3.40 billion current US$ +2.1%
2004 3.82 billion current US$ +12.4%
2005 4.34 billion current US$ +13.5%
2006 5.08 billion current US$ +17.2%
2007 6.60 billion current US$ +29.8%
2008 7.72 billion current US$ +17.0%
2009 7.20 billion current US$ -6.8%
2010 9.26 billion current US$ +28.7%
2011 11.14 billion current US$ +20.3%
2012 13.16 billion current US$ +18.2%
2013 13.38 billion current US$ +1.6%
2014 13.89 billion current US$ +3.9%
2015 11.60 billion current US$ -16.5%
2016 11.34 billion current US$ -2.2%
2017 12.14 billion current US$ +7.1%
2018 13.21 billion current US$ +8.7%
2019 13.69 billion current US$ +3.7%
2020 5.19 billion current US$ -62.1%
2021 3.80 billion current US$ -26.8%
2022 7.48 billion current US$ +96.9%
2023 12.19 billion current US$ +63.0%
2024 14.23 billion current US$ +16.8%

Malaysia compared with similar countries

  • Malaysia's 14.23 billion current US$ is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.09 billion current US$, 13.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)
  • Malaysia's 14.23 billion current US$ is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 569.60 million current US$, 25.0× the median. (32 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad 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.

YearChange FromTo
2022 +96.9% 3.80 billion current US$ 7.48 billion current US$

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 2.69 billion current US$ 2.16 billion current US$ 3.16 billion current US$ 5
2000s 4.74 billion current US$ 2.54 billion current US$ 7.72 billion current US$ 10
2010s 12.28 billion current US$ 9.26 billion current US$ 13.89 billion current US$ 10
2020s 8.58 billion current US$ 3.80 billion current US$ 14.23 billion current US$ 5

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 25 Thailand 17.26 billion current US$ compare
  2. 26 Mexico 15.68 billion current US$ compare
  3. 27 Indonesia 15.65 billion current US$ compare
  4. 29 Philippines 14.00 billion current US$ compare
  5. 30 Sweden 14.00 billion current US$ compare
  6. 31 Kuwait 13.36 billion current US$ compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Malaysia?
Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Malaysia was 14.23 billion current US$ in 2024, according to UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 14.23 billion current US$ in 2024.
What is the lowest spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 2.16 billion current US$ in 1998.
How does Malaysia rank for spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad?
Malaysia ranks 28th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
Is spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Malaysia data come from?
The figures come from UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad in Malaysia. Statizoid, drawing on UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/spending-by-a-countrys-residents-while-travelling-abroad/malaysia/

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About this data

Indicator
Spending by a country’s residents while travelling abroad
Unit
current US$
Source
UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 4,611 data points, 1995–2024
Last refreshed

Money spent by a country’s residents abroad on accommodation, food, transport, entertainment, shopping, and fares paid to foreign airlines. The data is expressed in current US dollars and is not adjusted for inflation or differences in living costs between countries.