All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars. The economy of Malaysia is the 4th largest in Southeast Asia, and is the 38th largest economy in the world. Malaysian citizens lead a much more affluent lifestyle compared to their peers in upper-middle income countries like Mexico, Dasar-dasar Forex, and Brazil. Despite government policies to increase income per capita in order to hasten the progress towards high income country by 2020, Malaysia’s growth in wages has been very slow, lagging behind the OECD standard.
As one of three countries that control the Strait of Malacca, international trade plays a very significant role in Malaysia’s economy. At one time, it was the largest producer of tin, rubber and palm oil in the world. In 1991, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir bin Mohamad outlined his ideal, Vision 2020 in which Malaysia would become a self-sufficient industrialised nation by 2020. 043 in 2014, and is considered a newly industrialised country. In 2014, the Household Income Survey undertaken by the government indicated that there were 7 million households in Malaysia, with an average of 4.
RM5,900 a month, compared to RM5,000 in 2012. The report also says “The electronic equipment, petroleum, and liquefied natural gas producer will see a substantial increase in income per capita. Prior to the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Malaysian ringgit was an internationalised currency, which was freely traded around the world. Just before the crisis, the Ringgit was traded RM2. Due to speculative activities, the Ringgit fell to as much as RM4. 10 to the dollar in matter of weeks.