Malaysia's taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) was 4.18% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.88 percentage points from 3.3% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 4.18% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 3.48% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 3.3% | 2014 |
| Highest | 6.88% | 1996 |
| Lowest | 3.27% | 2021 |
| Average since 2015 | 4.04% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 6.88% | 1996 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Malaysia's taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) rose 0.43 percentage points on 2023 (from 3.75% to 4.18%).
Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2023), the average change was −0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.66 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 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 1.38 percentage points in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.9 percentage points in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.15 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 33% 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 2024, Malaysia had the 81st highest value of the 86 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 2024 ranking
- Korea, Rep. — 78th of 86: 4.91%
- Philippines — 79th of 86: 4.64%
- China — 80th of 86: 4.53%
- Singapore — 82nd of 86: 4.02%
- Panama — 83rd of 86: 3.7%
- Ethiopia — 84th of 86: 2.39%
What this measures
General taxes on goods and services are taxes levied on the production, leasing, delivery, sale, purchase or other change of ownership of a wide range of goods and the provision of a wide range of services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of value added in industry and services which is the contribution to the economy by industries in ISIC (Rev. 3) divisions 05-43 and 50-99.
Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
All 29 values
| Year | Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 4.18 |
| 2023 | 3.75 |
| 2022 | 3.56 |
| 2021 | 3.27 |
| 2020 | 3.44 |
| 2019 | 3.48 |
| 2018 | 3.43 |
| 2017 | 5.11 |
| 2016 | 5.46 |
| 2015 | 4.69 |
| 2014 |
Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) in nearby economies
- Australia — 5.21% (2022)
- Cambodia — 8.14% (2023)
- China — 4.53% (2024)
- Fiji — 17.58% (2024)
- Kiribati — 13.36% (2023)
- Korea, Rep. — 4.91% (2024)
- Lao PDR — 10.72% (2022)
- Macao SAR, China — 25.06% (2024)
- Marshall Islands
More public sector data for Malaysia
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 4.93 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (current LCU) — 21.13 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.04% (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 7 million (2024)
- Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 4.43% (2025)
- Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 0.73 (2023)
- Armed forces personnel, total — 136,000 (2020)
- Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.81% (2020)
- Central government debt, total (current LCU) — 1.25 trillion (2024)
- Central government debt, total (% of GDP)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Malaysia's taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added)?
- 4.18% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1996?
- It is down 2.7 percentage points from 6.88% in 1996. The highest value was 6.88% in 1996 and the lowest 3.27% in 2021.
- How does Malaysia rank?
- 81st highest of 86 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) unusual for Malaysia?
- In 2024, Malaysia's taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) rose 0.43 percentage points on 2023 (from 3.75% to 4.18%). Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2023), the average change was −0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.66 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 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 GC.TAX.GSRV.VA.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, 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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