Domestic general government health expenditure in Malaysia
Malaysia: Domestic general government health expenditure was 2.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Domestic general government health expenditure in Malaysia, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 2.0% for domestic general government health expenditure in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, domestic general government health expenditure in Malaysia peaked at 2.5% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 2000.
That places Malaysia 137th out of 193 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Domestic general government health expenditure in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.2% | — |
| 2001 | 1.4% | +15.2% |
| 2002 | 1.4% | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 1.5% | +11.1% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 1.4% | -6.5% |
| 2006 | 1.7% | +22.9% |
| 2007 | 1.6% | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 1.6% | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | +13.4% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | -7.3% |
| 2011 | 1.8% | +5.1% |
| 2012 | 1.9% | +5.7% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 2.0% | +7.3% |
| 2015 | 2.0% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 1.9% | -7.1% |
| 2017 | 1.9% | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 2.0% | +4.3% |
| 2020 | 2.2% | +8.3% |
| 2021 | 2.5% | +13.0% |
| 2022 | 2.0% | -19.8% |
| 2023 | 2.0% | +0.3% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 2.0% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.4%, 59% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 2.0% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.4%, 59% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.5% | 1.2% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | 1.7% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More health data for Malaysia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.9119 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.2888 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,250 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 652 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 18 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.7207 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0297 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.5991 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is domestic general government health expenditure in Malaysia?
- Domestic general government health expenditure in Malaysia was 2.0% in 2023, according to Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest domestic general government health expenditure recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 2021.
- What is the lowest domestic general government health expenditure recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 2000.
- How does Malaysia rank for domestic general government health expenditure?
- Malaysia ranks 137th out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is domestic general government health expenditure rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of Domestic general government health expenditure (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Public expenditure on health from domestic sources as a share of the economy as measured by GDP.