Malaysia is an upper-middle income economy according to the World Bank. Its 2024 GDP of $422 billion accounts for 10.6% of the regional GDP of Southeast Asia. With a population of 35.5 million, Malaysia’s GDP per capita is $11,874, the third-highest in the region.
From 2015 to 2024, 6,227 aid and development projects were implemented in Malaysia by 64 development partners, totalling $13.1 billion in official development finance (ODF).
Key trends
ODF disbursements including grants, loans, and other forms of assistance to Malaysia have grown modestly since 2015, reaching a high of $1.9 billion in 2023. In 2024, ODF remained stable, at $1.8 billion.
ODF has fluctuated slightly relative to Malaysia’s economy but remained consistently below 0.5% of GDP. Malaysia’s 2024 ODF to GDP ratio is the seventh-highest in the region. ODF is usually provided to Malaysia through non-concessional loans (90%).
New commitments to Malaysia increased by 73% in 2024 to $341 million, which is still well below a 2016 peak in commitments of $15 billion. The 2019 drop into negative commitments reflects the downsizing of a previous multi-billion-dollar commitment from China.
- Spent
- Committed
Development partners
China is Malaysia’s primary development partner, accounting for 83% of ODF received from 2015 to 2024. In 2015, South Korea was its primary development partner, but its support has since dwindled.
From 2015 to 2024, China provided $10.8 billion in ODF to Malaysia, 70% of it to the transport and storage sector and largely to a single infrastructure megaproject, the East Coast Rail Link, which has received $7.6 billion in disbursements. China’s ODF to Malaysia is distributed almost entirely through non-concessional loans.
Once Malaysia’s top development partner, South Korea’s contributions have declined since 2015. From 2015 to 2019, its ODF to Malaysia was heavily concentrated in the industry, mining, and construction sector, with additional support to the energy sector. Since 2020, however, its focus has shifted to education, government and civil society, and health. While South Korea used to disburse ODF to Malaysia almost entirely through non-concessional loans, in the past two years it has exclusively provided grants.
Malaysia’s second tier of development partners includes Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Sectors
As a proportion of total ODF spent, Malaysia receives far more support in the transport and storage sector (58%) than the regional average (18%). It also receives double the regional average in the industry, mining, and construction sector.
The industry, mining, and construction sector received a significant portion of Malaysia’s ODF up until 2019, when it took 87%, but its share has fallen dramatically to less than 0.2% since 2020.
- Malaysia
- Regional average
Policy goals
The Southeast Asia Aid Map tracks ODF with integrated policy goals across three policy domains or cross-cutting themes (as distinct from sectors): climate action, gender equality, and disability inclusion.
From 2015 to 2024, 11% of Malaysia’s ODF was directed to climate action, 1% to gender equality, and 0% to disability inclusion — all well below the regional average.
Provision of intra-regional ODF
Malaysia is a very minor provider of intra-regional ODF relative to its income status. It provided an annual average of $109,105 to the region from 2015 to 2024, almost entirely to support regional initiatives in the humanitarian aid sector. It has also twice contributed bilaterally to Laos, in 2018 and 2020. Malaysia receives a small amount of intra-regional ODF, mostly in the form of grants from Thailand.