Malaysia flag Malaysia: Economic and Political Overview

Foreign trade figures of Malaysia

Foreign Trade in Figures

Malaysia is well known for its openness to international trade. Foreign trade represented 131% of the country’s GDP in 2022 (World Bank, 2023) making the country vulnerable to external demand. The country mainly exports electrical and electronic equipment (34% of total exports in 2021), Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products (12%), machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers (8.4%), animal (6.6%) and rubbers (5.6%). It mainly imports electrical and electronic equipment (30%), Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products (13%), machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers (9.1%) and plastics with 4% (World Bank, 2023). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is forecasting a decrease of 1.3% in the volume of exports of goods and services of the country in 2023, after an increase of 6.3% in 2022, and a sharpe decrease of more than 4.5% of its imports, after an increase of 10.6% in 2022.

In 2022, Malaysia's main trade partners were China (16% of total exports in 2021), Singapore (14%), United States (12%), Hong Kong (6.4%) and Japan (6.3%). Its main suppliers were China (25% of total imports), Singapore (10%), United States (8.2%) and Japan with 8.1% (World Bank, 2023). Even though exports of electronic equipment suffered from the Chinese slowdown, U.S. demand should stay dynamic and support exports. The government supported the creation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a multilateral free-trade agreement negotiated between Asia-Pacific and North American countries. The treaty, signed by Malaysia and eleven other nations in order to boost inter-regional trade, was renamed as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) after the withdrawal of the United States in January 2017. It was signed in March 2018 but Malaysian government has not set any deadline for ratifying. An increasing number of foreign companies are exploring Malaysia as a potential base for regional operations with the CPTPP member markets. On the 15th of November 2020 Malaysia has signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 14 other Indo-Pacific countries. This free trade agreement is the largest trade deal in history, covering 30 per cent of the global economy. It includes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN : Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and ASEAN’s free trade agreement partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and Republic of Korea). The RCEP covers goods, services, investment, economic and technical cooperation. It also creates new rules for electronic commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, and small and medium sized enterprises.

According to WTO data, exports of goods amounted in 2021 to USD 299 billion and imports reached USD 238 billion. With regard to services, Malaysia exported USD 20.8 billion worth of services and imported USD 35.3 billion. Malaysia's exports in 2022 registered a sturdy growth of 25% to reach a record high of RM1.6 trillion (373.35 billion USD) surpassing the forecast. Malaysia's export performance in 2022 was buoyed by the continues robust external demand despite concerns over slowing global growth. This was the 24nd consecutive year of trade surplus since 1998.

 
Foreign Trade Values 20182019202020212022
Imports of Goods (million USD) 217,602204,998190,860238,240294,317
Exports of Goods (million USD) 247,455238,195234,766299,425352,475
Imports of Services (million USD) 44,60243,71133,38137,08044,590
Exports of Services (million USD) 40,23141,08922,15521,24631,683

Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Indicators 20182019202020212022
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 130.4123.0116.8130.6140.7
Trade Balance (million USD) 28,42630,12332,82942,81442,162
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) 24,05427,50121,60326,98029,256
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 1.5-2.4-7.917.714.2
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 1.9-1.0-8.615.412.8
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 61.857.855.261.766.9
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 68.665.361.668.873.8

Source: World Bank ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Forecasts 2023 (e)2024 (e)2025 (e)2026 (e)2027 (e)
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) 0.92.94.03.33.5
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) 4.32.14.13.53.9

Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data

Note: (e) Estimated Data

 
International Economic Cooperation
Malaysia is a member of the following international economic organisations: IMF, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), ICC, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Commonwealth, G-15, G-77, WTO, among others. For the full list of economic and other international organisations in which participates Malaysia click here. International organisation membership of Malaysia is also outlined here.
Free Trade Agreements
Malaysia is a member of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) signed on 15 November 2020. The complete and up-to-date list of Free Trade Agreements signed by Malaysia can be consulted here.
 

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers
(% of Exports)
2022
Singapore 15.0%
China 13.6%
United States 10.8%
Japan 6.3%
Hong Kong SAR, China 6.2%
See More Countries 48.2%
Main Suppliers
(% of Imports)
2022
China 21.3%
Singapore 10.5%
United States 7.8%
Japan 6.4%
Indonesia 5.7%
See More Countries 48.3%

Source: Comtrade, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

Main Products

352.4 bn USD of products exported in 2022
Electronic integrated circuits; parts thereofElectronic integrated circuits; parts thereof 22.2%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 9.8%
Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbonsPetroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons 4.8%
Palm oil and its fractions, whether or not refined...Palm oil and its fractions, whether or not refined (excl. chemically modified) 4.8%
Telephone sets, incl. telephones for cellular...Telephone sets, incl. telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, incl. apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network [such as a local or wide area network]; parts thereof (excl. than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528) 2.4%
See More Products 55.9%
294.4 bn USD of products imported in 2022
Electronic integrated circuits; parts thereofElectronic integrated circuits; parts thereof 18.2%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 10.8%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude 4.1%
Coal; briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels...Coal; briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels manufactured from coal 2.4%
Telephone sets, incl. telephones for cellular...Telephone sets, incl. telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, incl. apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network [such as a local or wide area network]; parts thereof (excl. than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528) 1.5%
See More Products 62.9%

Source: Comtrade, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.

 

Main Services

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

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Latest Update: November 2023