Thailand
Income inequality in Malaysia widened even while median household income rose to RM5,873 in 2019, according to latest statistics
KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 ― As the median household income continues to grow in Malaysia, the latest official statistics showed that income inequality in the country has gone up in 2019 when compared to 2016.
In the Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey Report 2019 released today, the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s (DOSM) figures showed income inequality calculated based on two categories ― gross income (which is before tax and contributions to social security scheme are paid) and disposable income (which is after deducting tax, zakat and social security scheme contributions).
The income inequality in Malaysia was measured using the Gini coefficient, with a higher value showing higher inequality in income.
When it comes to gross income, the income inequality in Malaysia went up, with the Gini coefficient value increasing from 0.399 in 2016 to 0.407 in 2019.
The income inequality based on gross income increased for both the urban (0.389 to 0.398) and rural (0.364 to 0.367) areas, while income inequality also increased for all three major ethnic groupings ― Bumiputera (0.385 to 0.389), Chinese (0.411 to 0.417), Indians (0.382 to 0.411).
As for income inequality based on disposable income, it increased from 0.391 in 2016 to 0.393 in 2019, again increasing when it comes to urban areas (0.380 to 0.385) but decreasing when it comes to rural areas (0.365 to 0.361).
For income inequality based on disposable income, the Bumiputera group recorded a decrease from 0.380 to 0.377, while both the Chinese (0.396 to 0.399) and Indians (0.372 to 0.399) recorded increased income inequality.
Household income
The median monthly income for Malaysian households continued to grow in 2019, albeit at a lower pace of 3.9 per cent, as compared to a growth rate of 6.6 per cent per annum in 2016.
In terms of amount, the median monthly household income in Malaysia grew from RM5,228 in 2016 to RM5,873 in 2019. This means that half of the households in Malaysia had a monthly income of RM5,873 or less in 2019.
A Flourish chartWhen it comes to households in urban and rural areas, the median monthly household income increased in 2019 when compared to 2016.
The median monthly household income in urban areas grew at a rate of 3.8 per cent from RM5,860 (2016) to RM6,561 (2019), while growing in rural areas at a rate of 3.3 per cent from RM3,471 (2016) to RM3,828 (2019).
When it comes to households based on income groups, the median monthly household income increased for the B40 group from RM3,000 (2016) to RM3,166 (2019), while also increasing for the M40 group from RM6,275 to RM7,093, and for the T20 group from RM13,148 to RM15,301.