PUTRAJAYA, Aug 2 — Malaysia has demonstrated commendable economic resilience, achieving a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.6 per cent in 2023, said the Statistics Department.
It said the achievement was logged amid global economic challenges, including geopolitical tensions that impacted global markets, living costs, and commodity prices.
“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 Covid-19 travel restrictions were more stringent.
“Domestic tourism also improved, recording 213.7 million visitors, an increase of 24.6 per cent against 2022 (171.6 million visitors),” he said.
Uzir said 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 reported Malaysia secured approved investments of RM329.5 billion in 2023, a 23 per cent increase compared to the previous year’s RM267.8 billion,” he said.
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 Selangor, Penang, and Johor continue to be Malaysia’s top exporting states, contributing 17.7 per cent, 31.4 per cent, and 20.3 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, 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.
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 — Selangor, Johor, Sabah, Perak, and Sarawak — registered a total population of 19.9 million, contributing 59.8 per cent to the total population.
“The Labour Force Participation Rate increased by 0.8 percentage points to 70 per cent in 2023, up from 69.3 per cent in 2022. This increase was observed across all states compared with the previous year,” he added.
— Bernama
