- The household income survey for Malaysia showed an improvement in both the distribution and monthly income in 2014.

- According to the Statistics Department, the mean monthly household income for Malaysians increased by 10.3% per annum to RM6,141 in 2014 from RM5,000 in 2012.

- Meanwhile, the median monthly household income for Malaysians in 2014 increased by 11.7% annually to RM4,585 from RM3,626 in 2012.

- In particular, Kuala Lumpur recorded the highest mean monthly household income (RM10,629), followed by Putrajaya (RM10,401), Selangor (RM8,252), Labuan (RM7,591) and Johor (RM6,207).

- As for median household income, Kuala Lumpur was the highest at RM7,620 in 2014, followed by Putrajaya (RM7,512), Selangor (RM6,214), Labuan (RM5,684), Johor (RM5,197), Melaka (RM5,029) and Penang (RM4,702).

- Both the mean and median income of three household groups namely the bottom 40% (B40), middle 40% (M40) and top 20% (T20) showed an increment from 2012 to 2014.

- The mean income of household group of B40 has recorded an annual growth of 15.9% to RM2,537 in 2014, M40 advanced by 10.7% to RM5,662 and T20 surged by 8.1% to RM14,305.

- In terms of median income, the household group of B40 has recorded the highest annual income growth by 17.5% to RM2,629, M40 advanced by 11.2% to RM5,465, and T20 surged by 8.5% to RM11,610.

- Aside from that, Gini coefficient declined from 0.431 in 2012 to 0.401 in 2014, which indicates improvement in the Malaysian household income distribution in both the urban and rural areas.

- Also, the incidence of poverty decreased from 1.7% in 2012 to 0.6% in 2014. Poverty incidence in urban and rural area in 2014 also decreased.

- It is noteworthy that Sabah recorded a substantial reduction in terms of poverty. The incidence of poverty fell from 8.1% in 2012 to 4.0% in 2014.

Source: AmeSecurities Research - 23 Jun 2015