M’sia Named 14th Fastest-Growing Economy in Asia, Behind Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines & Cambodia

Malaysia has just been named the country with the 14th fastest-growing economy in Asia for the year 2024 in a detailed analysis by Yahoo! Finance and Insider Monkey.

Relying on the Real GDP growth rates and GDP per capita growth rates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the ranking yielded some interesting results, especially regarding our country’s economic performance compared to other developing nations in Asia.

How Southeast Asian developing countries fare in the rankings

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In the rankings, Malaysia placed 14th with a Real DGP Growth Rate of 4.3% and a GDP Per Capita Growth Rate of 6.75% in 2024. 

Meanwhile, our neighbouring country north of the border, Thailand, was ranked 20th in the analysis, recording a 3.2% Real GDP Growth Rate and 5.94% GDP Per Capita growth rate.

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Other developing Southeast Asian countries that were ranked worse than our nation’s economy are Brunei and Laos.

Brunei ranked 19th with a 3.5% Real GDP Growth Rate of 3.5% and a GDP Per Capita Growth rate of 4.16%, followed by Laos in 18th place with a Real GDP Growth Rate of 4% and GDP Per Capita Growth Rate of -2.38%.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asian nations that placed higher than us in the analysis include:

• Indonesia in 10th place (Real GDP Growth Rate of 5% and a GDP Per Capita Growth Rate of 7.83%)
• Vietnam in 6th place (Real GDP Growth Rate of 5.8% and GDP Per Capita Growth Rate of 7.41%)
• Philippines in 5th place (Real GDP Growth Rate of 5.9% and GDP Per Capita Growth Rate of 8.03%)
• Cambodia in 3rd place (Real GDP Per Capita Growth Rate of 6.1% and GDP Per Capita Growth Rate of 6.34%)

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The top 20 fastest growing economies in Asia in 2024

Here’s the full list of the top 20 rankings in the analysis:

1. Macao
2. India
3. Cambodia
4. Bangladesh
5. Philippines
6. Vietnam
7. Uzbekistan
8. Armenia
9. Nepal
10. Indonesia
11. Tajikistan
12. Maldives
13. Mongolia
14. Malaysia
15. Kyrgyzstan
16. Kazakhstan
17. People’s Republic of China
18. Laos
19. Brunei
20. Thailand

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The methodology of the analysis

According to Yahoo! Finance and Insider Monkey, the rankings were made by referring to the Real GDP Growth Rates and GDP Per Capita Growth Rates of each country.

The Real GDP Growth Rates for 2024 were sourced from the IMF database, while the annual GDP Per Capita Growth for each nation between 2023 and 2024 were calculated using GDP Per Capita at current prices data from the IMF.

The Real GDP Growth Rates for 2024 were used as the primary metric of the rankings while the GDP Per Capita Growth Rates for 2024 were used as a secondary metric. The latter was used whenever a tie-break was required in the rankings.

Do note that Yahoo! Finance and Insider Monkey also decided to exclude Middle Eastern nations in the analysis.

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So, what do you guys think of the Malaysian economy’s placement in the rankings? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Also read: M’sians Waste Food More Than Any Other Country in SEA, a Whopping 91kg per Capita per Annum!