Malaysia: Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Malaysia's merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise exports) fell 0.78 percentage points on 2022 (from 11.58% to 10.81%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0.22 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.81 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 2 percentage points in 1985. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, Malaysia had the 105th highest value of the 201 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Malaysia in the 2023 ranking

• Bulgaria — 102nd of 201: 11.13%
• Thailand — 103rd of 201: 11.02%
• Denmark — 104th of 201: 10.92%
• Belarus — 106th of 201: 10.11%
• Portugal — 107th of 201: 9.98%
• Georgia — 108th of 201: 9.68%

What this measures

Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to other low- and middle-income economies in other World Bank regions according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.

Limitations: Data on exports and imports are from the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Direction of Trade database and should be broadly consistent with data from other sources, such as the United Nations Statistics Division's Commodity Trade (Comtrade) database. All high-income economies and major low- and middle-income economies report trade data to the IMF on a timely basis, covering about 85 percent of trade for recent years. Trade data for less timely reporters and for countries that do not report are estimated using reports of trading partner countries. Therefore, data on trade between developing and high-income economies should be generally complete.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 57 values

Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise exports) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 25.27% (2023)
• Australia — 7.2% (2023)
• Brunei Darussalam — 1.62% (2023)
• Cambodia — 2.03% (2023)
• China — 20.53% (2023)
• Fiji — 0.11% (2023)
• French Polynesia — 0.15% (2022)

More private sector & trade data for Malaysia

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 151.73% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$340.44 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$376.04 billion (2025)
• Agricultural raw materials imports (% of merchandise imports) — 1.29% (2025)
• Food imports (% of merchandise imports) — 8.26% (2025)
• Fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) — 12.02% (2025)
• Manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) — 71.96% (2025)
• Ores and metals imports (% of merchandise imports) — 4.59% (2025)
• Agricultural raw materials exports (% of merchandise exports) — 1.09% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Malaysia's merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise exports)?

10.81% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1967?

It is up 6.21 percentage points from 4.59% in 1967. The highest value was 12.01% in 2011 and the lowest 3.64% in 1976.

How does Malaysia rank?

105th highest of 201 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise exports) unusual for Malaysia?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.MRCH.OR.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); Direction of Trade database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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