fficult first half, when external pressures from
SARS and the Iraq War led to caution in the business community.
Growth topped 7% in 2004. Healthy foreign exchange reserves, low
inflation, and a small external debt are all strengths that make it
unlikely that Malaysia will experience a financial crisis similar to
the one in 1997. The economy remains dependent on continued growth
in the US, China, and Japan, top export destinations and key sources
of foreign investment.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$229.3 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
7.1% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $9,700 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 7.2%
industry: 33.6%
services: 59.1% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
10.49 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 14.5%, industry 36%, services 49.5% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
3% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
8% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 39.2% (2003 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
49.2 (1997)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.3% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
21.7% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $25.33 billion
expenditures: $29.33 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.4
billion (2004 est.)

Public debt:
45.4% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah -
subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber,
pepper, timber

Industries:
Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and
manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining
and smelting, logging and processing timber; Sabah - logging,
petroleum production; Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum
production and refining, logging

Industrial production growth rate:
10.2% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
75.33 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 89.5%
hydro: 10.5%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
68.4 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
70 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
785,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
460,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
230,200 bbl/day (2003)