Malaysia Economy Expands 5.3% in Q1

Malaysia’s economy expanded 5.3% year-on-year in Q1 2026, slowing from 6.3% in Q4, preliminary estimates showed. Growth moderated across most sectors, including services (5.4% vs 6.3% in Q4), with performance anchored by the wholesale and retail trade sector. DOSM attributed this to sustained consumer spending, supported by a stable labour market, higher incomes, and ongoing household-focused initiatives. Output also rose at a softer pace in manufacturing (5.8% vs 6.1%), construction (7.8% vs 11.0%), and agriculture (2.8% vs 5.4%). Meanwhile, mining and quarrying contracted (-1.1% vs +2.0%), primarily due to lower production of crude oil and condensate, as well as natural gas. Despite the overall slowdown, Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the Q1 data pointed to an economy that remained fundamentally resilient amid rising global uncertainty, particularly from higher oil prices driven by geopolitical tensions.

Malaysia’s economy expanded 6.3% year-on-year in Q4 2025, revised up from an initial 5.7% and accelerating from 5.4% growth in Q3. This marked the sharpest expansion since Q4 2022, with broad gains in agriculture (5.4% vs 0.1%), driven by oil palm output (16.2%), manufacturing (6.1% vs 4.1%), particularly vegetable and animal oils & fats (12%), and services (6.3% vs 5.5%), led by wholesale and retail trade (5.7%). Conversely, growth slowed in mining and quarrying (2% vs 9.7%) and construction (11% vs 11.8%). On the expenditure side, government spending (8% vs 7.1%), household consumption (5.3% vs 5%), and fixed investment (9.3% vs 7.4%) rose further. Meanwhile, net trade weighed on growth as imports jumped 7.9% (vs 0.7%), while exports increased by a smaller 3.9% (vs 1.7%). On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 0.8%, easing from 2.7% growth in Q3. For the full year, the economy expanded 5.2%.

Malaysia’s economy advanced 5.7% yoy in Q4 2025, accelerating from a 5.2% rise in Q3 and marking the strongest growth since Q2 2024, flash data showed. Manufacturing activity gained momentum (6.0% vs 4.1% in Q3), lifted by higher output in electrical and optical products, vegetable and animal oils, fats and food processing, non-metallic mineral products, and basic metal and fabricated metals. The agriculture sector also picked up strongly (5.1% vs 0.4%), boosted by a rebound in palm oil. Meanwhile, the construction sector kept its double-digit expansion (11.9% vs 11.8%), helped by a solid rise in non-residential buildings and specialised construction. However, mining and quarrying were subdued (1.1% vs 9.7%), dragged by a slowdown in crude oil & condensate and a fall in natural gas. Quarterly, the economy expanded 3.0%, after an upwardly revised 5.4% rise in Q3, which had been the fastest gain since Q4 2021. For the full year, the economy grew 4.9%, slightly slowing from 5.1% in 2024.