Malaysia: Merchandise trade (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Malaysia's merchandise trade (% of GDP) rose 2.29 percentage points on 2024 (from 149.44% to 151.73%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.32 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 10.6 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 24.5 percentage points in 1998 and the biggest yearly fall was 18.18 percentage points in 1963. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 3.87 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 71% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2025, Malaysia had the 9th highest value of the 188 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 2025 ranking

• Singapore — 5th of 188: 177.64%
• Slovak Republic — 6th of 188: 160.52%
• Belgium — 7th of 188: 152.43%
• Kiribati — 9th of 188: 147.76%
• Netherlands — 10th of 188: 139.54%
• Czechia — 11th of 188: 137.32%

What this measures

General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

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

All 66 values

Merchandise trade (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 117.68% (2022)
• Australia — 36.04% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 109.99% (2025)
• Cambodia — 127.1% (2025)
• China — 32.59% (2025)
• Fiji — 70.62% (2025)
• French Polynesia — 38.74% (2024)
• Guam — 18.42% (2022)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 371.02% (2025)
• Indonesia — 36.3% (2025)
• Japan — 33.68% (2025)

More private sector & trade data for Malaysia

• 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)
• Food exports (% of merchandise exports) — 10.36% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Malaysia's merchandise trade (% of GDP)?

151.73% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 42.3 percentage points from 109.43% in 1960. The highest value was 192.12% in 2000 and the lowest 66.09% in 1972.

How does Malaysia rank?

9th highest of 188 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in merchandise trade (% of GDP) unusual for Malaysia?

In 2025, Malaysia's merchandise trade (% of GDP) rose 2.29 percentage points on 2024 (from 149.44% to 151.73%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.32 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 10.6 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TG.VAL.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Trade Organization (WTO); World Bank GDP estimates, World Bank (WB); World Development Indicators, World Bank (WB) 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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