MALAYSIA has demonstrated commendable economic resilience by achieving a gross domestic product growth (GDP) of 3.6% in 2023, according to the statistics department.

It said the achievement was recorded amidst the challenging global economic environment, which includes geopolitical tensions impacting global markets, rising costs of living, and commodity price fluctuations.

The services sector notably contributed to the growth with a robust performance of 5.1%, counterbalancing the manufacturing sector’s modest growth of 0.7% due to global economic challenges, including supply chain disruptions and fluctuating commodity prices,said chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a statement today.

He added that Malaysia experienced a notable influx of tourist arrivals in 2023, indicating a substantial recovery to 20.1 million tourists compared to 10.1 million tourists in 2022 when global travel restrictions were more stringent due to the pandemic.

Domestic tourism also improved, recording 213.7 million visitors, an increase of 24.6% as against 2022 (171.6 million visitors).

Moreover, Uzir noted that Malaysia will continue positioning itself as a resilient and attractive destination for global investors in 2023, buoyed by its robust investment performance.

“The influx of capital not only strengthened Malaysia’s economic resilience, but it also elevated its competitiveness in the global market.

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) reported that Malaysia secured approved investments of RM329.5 bil in 2023, a 23% increase compared to the previous year’s RM267.8 bil.

Furthermore, Uzir added that despite facing a challenging global economic environment, Malaysia’s trade surpassed RM2 tril for the third consecutive year, reaching RM2.64 tril in 2023, with a trade surplus of RM214.1 bil.

According to him, Pulau Pinang, Johor, and Selangor continued to lead as Malaysia’s top exporting states, contributing 31.4%, 20.3%, and 17.7%, respectively, to national exports.

“Malaysia’s inflation in 2023 eased to 2.5% from 3.3% in 2022.

This was in tandem with the decline in most global commodity prices, the easing of supply disruptions, price controls and the provision of subsidies for selected goods.

The statistician pointed out that Malaysia’s population in 2023 is estimated at 33.4 million, an increase of 2.1% from the 32.7 million recorded in 2022.

Five states namely Selangor, Johor, Sabah, Perak, and Sarawak, registered a total population of 19.9 million people, contributing 59.8% to the total population.

“The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased by 0.8 percentage points to 70% in 2023, up from 69.3% in 2022.

This increase was observed across all states compared to the previous year.- Aug 2, 2024

https://focusmalaysia.my/msia-achieves-3-6-gdp-growth-in-2023-amid-global-challenges/