PUTRAJAYA, Aug 2 — Malaysia has demonstrated commendable economic resilience, achieving a gross domestic product growth of 3.6 per cent in 2023, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
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.
“The services sector notably contributed to the growth with a robust performance of 5.1 per cent, counterbalancing the manufacturing sector’s modest growth of 0.7 per cent due to global economic challenges, including supply chain disruptions and fluctuating commodity prices,” chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement today.
The chief statistician 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 per cent as against 2022 (171.6 million visitors),” he said.
Mohd 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.
“The influx of capital not only strengthened Malaysia’s economic resilience but 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 23.0 per cent increase compared to the previous year’s RM267.8 billion,” he said.
Mohd 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 Pulau Pinang, Johor, and Selangor continued to lead as Malaysia’s top exporting states, contributing 31.4 per cent, 20.3 per cent, and 17.7 per cent, respectively, to national exports.
He said Malaysia’s inflation in 2023 eased to 2.5 per cent from 3.3 per cent 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.
Mohd Uzir said Malaysia’s population in 2023 is estimated at 33.4 million, increasing 2.1 per cent from 32.7 million recorded in 2022.
“Five states, namely Selangor, Johor, Sabah, Perak, and Sarawak, registered a total population of 19.9 million people, contributing 59.8 per cent to the total population.
“The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased by 0.8 percentage points to 70.0 per cent in 2023, up from 69.3 per cent in 2022. This increase was observed across all states compared to the previous year,” he added. — Bernama
