Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita was 59.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in Malaysia, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 59.1% for share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in 2023.
The figure is down 2.3% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Malaysia peaked at 94.5% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 51.4%, in 2003.
That places Malaysia 100th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 94.5% | — |
| 1962 | 93.0% | -1.6% |
| 1963 | 92.9% | -0.1% |
| 1964 | 92.3% | -0.7% |
| 1965 | 93.0% | +0.7% |
| 1966 | 89.4% | -3.8% |
| 1967 | 89.3% | -0.1% |
| 1968 | 87.1% | -2.5% |
| 1969 | 88.1% | +1.2% |
| 1970 | 86.7% | -1.6% |
| 1971 | 86.4% | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 87.0% | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 87.0% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 86.5% | -0.6% |
| 1975 | 85.0% | -1.7% |
| 1976 | 85.6% | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 80.3% | -6.2% |
| 1978 | 78.0% | -2.8% |
| 1979 | 75.7% | -3.1% |
| 1980 | 75.0% | -0.8% |
| 1981 | 74.0% | -1.5% |
| 1982 | 70.8% | -4.3% |
| 1983 | 69.2% | -2.2% |
| 1984 | 67.1% | -3.1% |
| 1985 | 62.5% | -6.9% |
| 1986 | 62.8% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 62.2% | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 61.0% | -1.9% |
| 1989 | 58.9% | -3.5% |
| 1990 | 57.4% | -2.4% |
| 1991 | 60.8% | +6.0% |
| 1992 | 58.2% | -4.4% |
| 1993 | 56.1% | -3.6% |
| 1994 | 58.4% | +4.1% |
| 1995 | 54.8% | -6.2% |
| 1996 | 57.0% | +4.0% |
| 1997 | 54.3% | -4.7% |
| 1998 | 65.0% | +19.6% |
| 1999 | 61.2% | -5.7% |
| 2000 | 61.0% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 63.5% | +4.0% |
| 2002 | 59.4% | -6.5% |
| 2003 | 51.4% | -13.3% |
| 2004 | 55.2% | +7.3% |
| 2005 | 59.8% | +8.3% |
| 2006 | 54.3% | -9.2% |
| 2007 | 60.1% | +10.6% |
| 2008 | 64.7% | +7.8% |
| 2009 | 58.7% | -9.4% |
| 2010 | 58.0% | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 59.5% | +2.6% |
| 2012 | 57.0% | -4.2% |
| 2013 | 56.4% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 52.9% | -6.1% |
| 2015 | 57.8% | +9.1% |
| 2016 | 53.3% | -7.7% |
| 2017 | 54.0% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 54.9% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 56.6% | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 57.2% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 57.8% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 60.6% | +4.8% |
| 2023 | 59.1% | -2.3% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 59.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 55.5%, 1.1× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 59.1% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 76.1%, 78% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 91.1% | 87.1% | 94.5% | 9 |
| 1970s | 83.8% | 75.7% | 87.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 66.3% | 58.9% | 75.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 58.3% | 54.3% | 65.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 58.8% | 51.4% | 64.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 56.0% | 52.9% | 59.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.7% | 57.2% | 60.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More agriculture & rural data for Malaysia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0822 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,078 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.913 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2261 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Malaysia?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita in Malaysia was 59.1% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 94.5% in 1961.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 51.4% in 2003.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita?
- Malaysia ranks 100th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of cereals allocated to human food vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of domestic cereal supply allocated to direct human food, rather than animal feed or biofuels. GDP is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs across countries.