Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Malaysia

Malaysia: Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP was 4.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
4.0%
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
157th
of 195 countries
All-time high
4.4%
in 2021
All-time low
2.5%
in 2000
Years of data
24
2000–2023

Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Malaysia, 2000–2023

012342000201120232000: 2.5 %2001: 2.7 %2002: 2.7 %2003: 2.9 %2004: 2.9 %2005: 2.8 %2006: 3.1 %2007: 3.1 %2008: 3 %2009: 3.3 %2010: 3.2 %2011: 3.3 %2012: 3.5 %2013: 3.5 %2014: 3.7 %2015: 3.8 %2016: 3.7 %2017: 3.7 %2018: 3.8 %2019: 3.8 %2020: 4.1 %2021: 4.4 %2022: 3.9 %2023: 4 %

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2023, total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Malaysia stood at 4.0%.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 12.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Malaysia peaked at 4.4% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2.5%, in 2000.

Malaysia ranks 157th of 195 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.9% 2.5% 3.3% 10
2010s 3.6% 3.2% 3.8% 10
2020s 4.1% 3.9% 4.4% 4

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 154 Vanuatu 4.1% compare
  2. 155 Niger 4.0% compare
  3. 156 Bahrain 4.0% compare
  4. 158 Antigua and Barbuda 3.9% compare
  5. 159 Nigeria 3.9% compare
  6. 160 Mali 3.8% compare

See the full ranking of 195 places →

More health data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Malaysia?
Total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Malaysia was 4.0% in 2023, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest total healthcare spending as a share of gdp recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 4.4% in 2021.
What is the lowest total healthcare spending as a share of gdp recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 2.5% in 2000.
How does Malaysia rank for total healthcare spending as a share of gdp?
Malaysia ranks 157th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
Is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malaysia data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP
Unit
%
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
195 places, 4,588 data points, 2000–2023
Last refreshed

Total healthcare expenditure as the share of national gross domestic product (GDP).