Statistics on Poverty

Poverty in Malaysia, 2024

Latest Release : 8 October 2025
28 July 2023
Poverty in Malaysia 2022 Show all release archives
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Overview

Incidence of Poverty

  • The average Poverty Line Income (PLI) for 2024 was RM2,705 (2022: RM2,589), with the average food PLI amounting to RM1,236 (2022: RM1,198).
  • The incidence of absolute poverty in 2024 was 5.1 per cent.
  • Urban poverty incidence decreased from 4.5 per cent in 2022 to 3.7 per cent in 2024, while rural areas recorded a decline from 12.0 per cent to 10.0 per cent.
  • All states recorded low hardcore poverty incidences, ranging between 0.0 per cent and 0.1 per cent, except for Sabah which recorded 0.7 per cent.
  • The poverty incidence among Bumiputera declined to 6.6 per cent compared to 7.9 per cent (2022). Poverty incidence also decreased among the Chinese and Indian communities, to 1.5 per cent (2019: 1.9%) and 3.1 per cent (2022: 5.4%), respectively.
  • Sabah recorded the highest poverty incidence at 17.7 per cent, followed by Kelantan (11.5%).


Relative Poverty

  • The relative poverty line is determined based on half of the median gross household income. In 2024, the relative poverty line was RM3,509 (2022: RM3,169), with a relative poverty rate of 16.7% (2022: 16.6%).

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