Page 11 - WELFARE IN MALAYSIA ACROSS THREE DECADES: THE STATE OF HOUSEHOLDS 2020 PART 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Share of mean household income, by source for household head, 2012–2019

100.0 %
6.5 7.6 8.5 8.2 Current transfers
90.0 9.7 11.4 12.9 12.9 Properties & investment
80.0
17.2
70.0 16.0 15.6 17.3 Self-employment
60.0
50.0
40.0
66.6 65.0
30.0 63.0 61.6 Paid employment
20.0
10.0
0.0
2012 2014 2016 2019

Sources: DOS (2017), DOS (2020b)

Higher expenditure, changing consumption patterns

The increase in household income was accompanied by higher expenditure. Between 1993
and 2009, mean and median household expenditure, as shares of household income, declined.
This trend was then reversed from 2009 to 2014, as expenditure growth exceeded income
growth, fuelling concerns for cost of living pressures.

Real mean household income and consumption expenditure, 1993–2019

80%
RM8,000 80
8,000
7,000 68.1% 70
60.1
6,000 57.4 60
54.4
5,000 50

4,000 40

3,000 30

2,000 20

1,000 10

0 0
1993 1998 2004 2009 2014 2016 2019
Expenditure
Mean expenditure as % of income (RHS)
Income
Mean income Mean expenditure Expenditure as a % of income (RHS)

Note: The years featured are those with published data for household expenditure, which differs for earlier years with data for
household income. Data is expressed in 2019 prices.
Source: DOS (2020d), DOS (2020b) and KRI calculations

x KHAZANAH RESEARCH INSTITUTE