Military expenditure in Malaysia
Malaysia: Military expenditure was 4.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Military expenditure in Malaysia, 1990–2024
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Measured in % of general government expenditure.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 4.5% for military expenditure in 2024.
That represents a change of up 11.6% on the previous year and down 18.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military expenditure in Malaysia peaked at 11.2% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 2022.
Malaysia ranks 94th of 161 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Military expenditure in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % of general government expenditure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7.8% | — |
| 1991 | 10.7% | +37.4% |
| 1992 | 9.7% | -9.4% |
| 1993 | 10.7% | +10.3% |
| 1994 | 11.2% | +4.7% |
| 1995 | 11.2% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 9.8% | -11.9% |
| 1997 | 9.1% | -8.0% |
| 1998 | 6.4% | -29.5% |
| 1999 | 7.8% | +22.8% |
| 2000 | 5.9% | -25.2% |
| 2001 | 6.8% | +15.8% |
| 2002 | 7.5% | +10.7% |
| 2003 | 8.6% | +13.9% |
| 2004 | 8.0% | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 8.5% | +5.4% |
| 2006 | 7.5% | -11.4% |
| 2007 | 7.6% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 6.8% | -10.4% |
| 2009 | 6.1% | -10.6% |
| 2010 | 5.6% | -7.5% |
| 2011 | 5.7% | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 5.0% | -13.5% |
| 2013 | 5.4% | +8.9% |
| 2014 | 5.5% | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 6.1% | +10.1% |
| 2016 | 6.1% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 5.0% | -17.6% |
| 2018 | 4.2% | -15.6% |
| 2019 | 3.8% | -10.0% |
| 2020 | 4.0% | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 4.0% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 3.7% | -9.1% |
| 2023 | 4.1% | +10.9% |
| 2024 | 4.5% | +11.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.4% | 6.4% | 11.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.3% | 5.9% | 8.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.2% | 3.8% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.0% | 3.7% | 4.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More public sector data for Malaysia
- Arms imports 7.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.1993 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate -90.14 % change on previous year (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 7.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 121.29 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0102 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 9.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 4.31 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 21.31 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military expenditure in Malaysia?
- Military expenditure in Malaysia was 4.5% in 2024, according to SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- What is the highest military expenditure recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 11.2% in 1994.
- What is the lowest military expenditure recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 2022.
- How does Malaysia rank for military expenditure?
- Malaysia ranks 94th out of 161 countries with data for 2024.
- Is military expenditure rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published as part of Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Military expenditure expressed as a percentage of general government expenditure