Wealth share of the richest 1% in Malaysia
Malaysia: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 27.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Malaysia, 1980–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, wealth share of the richest 1% in Malaysia stood at 27.2%.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and down 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in Malaysia peaked at 32.6% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 25.2%, in 1989.
Malaysia ranks 112th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 26.0% | — |
| 1981 | 26.0% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 26.0% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 25.9% | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 25.9% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 25.8% | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 25.6% | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 25.4% | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 25.3% | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 25.2% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 25.3% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 25.4% | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 25.4% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 25.6% | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 28.3% | +10.4% |
| 1995 | 31.6% | +11.7% |
| 1996 | 31.8% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 32.6% | +2.6% |
| 1998 | 28.9% | -11.5% |
| 1999 | 28.9% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 29.3% | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 27.1% | -7.4% |
| 2002 | 27.8% | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 27.5% | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 29.2% | +6.1% |
| 2005 | 30.3% | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 30.7% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 31.0% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 30.3% | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 30.2% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 30.3% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 29.8% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 30.0% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 29.6% | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 29.4% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 30.5% | +3.6% |
| 2016 | 28.8% | -5.7% |
| 2017 | 29.5% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 29.3% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 29.6% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 27.9% | -5.7% |
| 2021 | 29.4% | +5.4% |
| 2022 | 28.8% | -2.3% |
| 2023 | 27.7% | -3.8% |
| 2024 | 27.2% | -1.7% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 27.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 27.2%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 27.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 27.2%, 1.0× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 25.7% | 25.2% | 26.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 28.4% | 25.3% | 32.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.3% | 27.1% | 31.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.7% | 28.8% | 30.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.2% | 27.2% | 29.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 111 Solomon Islands 27.2% compare
- 113 Fiji 27.2% compare
- 114 Kiribati 27.2% compare
- 115 Marshall Islands 27.2% compare
More reference data data for Malaysia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7102 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5869 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1487 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8098 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is wealth share of the richest 1% in Malaysia?
- Wealth share of the richest 1% in Malaysia was 27.2% in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 32.6% in 1997.
- What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.2% in 1989.
- How does Malaysia rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
- Malaysia ranks 112th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Wealth share of the richest 1%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of wealth owned by the richest 1% of the population. Wealth is defined as the total value of non-financial and financial assets (housing, land, deposits, bonds, equities, etc.) held by households, minus their debts.