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ECONOMY
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Economy
- Overview:
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Malaysia
made a quick economic recovery in 1999 from its worst recession
since independence in 1957. GDP grew 5%, responding to a dynamic
export sector, which grew over 10% and fiscal stimulus from higher
government spending. The large export surplus has enabled the
country to build up its already substantial financial reserves,
to $31 billion at yearend 1999. This stable macroeconomic environment,
in which both inflation and unemployment stand at 3% or less,
has made possible the relaxation of most of the capital controls
imposed by the government in 1998 to counter the impact of the
Asian financial crisis. Government and private forecasters expect
Malaysia to continue this trend in 2000, predicting GDP to grow
another 5% to 6%. While Malaysia's immediate economic horizon
looks bright, its long-term prospects are clouded by the lack
of reforms in the corporate sector, particularly those dealing
with competitiveness and high corporate debt. |
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GDP:
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purchasing
power parity - $229.1 billion (1999 est.) |
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GDP
- Real Growth Rate:
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5%
(1999 est.) |
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GDP
- Per Capita:
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purchasing
power parity - $10,700 (1999 est.) |
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GDP
- Composition by Sector:
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agriculture:
12%
industry: 46%
services: 42% (1998) |
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Population
Below Poverty Level:
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6.8%
(1997 est.) |
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Household
Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:
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lowest
10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 20.4% (1997 est.) |
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Inflation
Rate :
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2.8%
(1999) |
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Labor
Force :
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67.76
million (November 1999) |
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Labor
Force - by Occupation:
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manufacturing
27%, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries 16%, local trade and
tourism 17%, services 15%, government 10%, construction 9% (1999
est.) |
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Unemployment
Rate:
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3% (1999 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$23.2 billion
expenditures: $27.6 billion, including capital expenditures
of $NA (1999) |
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Industries:
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Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing,
light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting,
logging and processing timber; Sabah - logging, petroleum production;
Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining,
logging |
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Industrial
Production Growth Rate:
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8.5% (1999 est.) |
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Electricity
- Production:
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57.435 billion kWh (1998) |
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Electricity
- Production by Source:
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fossil
fuel: 94.78%
hydro: 5.22%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998) |
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Electricity
- Consumption:
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53.423
billion kWh (1998) |
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Electricity
- Exports:
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75
million kWh (1998) |
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Electricity
- Imports:
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83
million kWh (1998) |
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Agriculture
- Products:
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Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, rice; Sabah - subsistence
crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper;
timber |
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Exports:
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$83.5
billion (1999 est.) |
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Exports
- Commodities:
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electronic
equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, chemicals, palm
oil, wood and wood products, rubber, textiles |
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Exports
- Partners:
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US
23%, Singapore 16%, Japan 11%, Hong Kong 5%, Netherlands 5%, Taiwan
5%, Thailand 3% (1999 est.) |
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Imports:
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$61.5 billion (1999 est.) |
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Imports
-Commodities:
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machinery and equipment, chemicals, food, fuel and lubricants
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Imports
- Partners:
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Japan
21%, US 18%, Singapore 14%, Taiwan 5%, South Korea 5%, Thailand
4%, China 3% (1999 est.) |
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Debt
- External:
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$43.6
billion (1999 est.) |
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Currency:
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yen |
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Exchange
Rates :
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ringgits
(M$) per US$1 - 3.8000 (January 2000), 3.8000 (1999), 3.9244 (1998),
2.8133 (1997), 2.5159 (1996), 2.5044 (1995) |
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Fiscal
Year :
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calendar
year |
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