Employee compensation as share of government spending in Malaysia
Malaysia: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 29.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Malaysia, 1996–2023
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 29.6% for employee compensation as share of government spending in 2023.
That represents a change of up 8.3% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Malaysia peaked at 35.5% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 25.8%, in 1999.
That places Malaysia 63rd out of 155 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 34.3% | — |
| 1997 | 27.6% | -19.7% |
| 1998 | 29.4% | +6.6% |
| 1999 | 25.8% | -12.0% |
| 2000 | 27.8% | +7.6% |
| 2001 | 26.4% | -5.0% |
| 2002 | 29.9% | +13.2% |
| 2003 | 29.4% | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 26.6% | -9.7% |
| 2005 | 26.6% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 27.0% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 27.0% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 27.2% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 27.7% | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 31.2% | +12.5% |
| 2011 | 27.9% | -10.5% |
| 2012 | 29.5% | +5.7% |
| 2013 | 29.1% | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 30.7% | +5.8% |
| 2015 | 32.5% | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 34.9% | +7.2% |
| 2017 | 35.5% | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 34.7% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 30.7% | -11.6% |
| 2020 | 31.7% | +3.3% |
| 2021 | 32.1% | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 27.3% | -14.9% |
| 2023 | 29.6% | +8.3% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 29.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26.6%, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 29.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 29.6%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 29.3% | 25.8% | 34.3% | 4 |
| 2000s | 27.6% | 26.4% | 29.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.7% | 27.9% | 35.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.2% | 27.3% | 32.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More work & labour data for Malaysia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.2671 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.2772 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.2563 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.25 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.6933 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 36,440 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 5,289 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 21,832 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 22,194 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 44,026 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Malaysia?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Malaysia was 29.6% in 2023, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 35.5% in 2017.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.8% in 1999.
- How does Malaysia rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Malaysia ranks 63rd out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Employee compensation as share of government spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Employee compensation includes wages, in-kind payments, and government contributions to social insurance schemes such as social security and pensions.