Economy of Malaysia

Agriculture has transitioned into a minor sector of the Malaysian economy, representing 7.1% of Malaysia's GDP and engaging 11.1% of the labor force. This stands in stark contrast to the 1960s when agriculture contributed to 37% of Malaysia's GDP and employed 66.2% of the labor force. Over time, there has been a significant shift in the crops grown by the agricultural sector, moving away from food crops like paddy and coconut towards industrial crops such as palm oil and rubber. These industrial crops accounted for 83.7% of total agricultural land use, underscoring the transformation of Malaysia's agricultural landscape.

Science policies in Malaysia are overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation. The country holds a prominent position as one of the world's largest exporters of semiconductor devices, electrical devices, and IT and communication products. Malaysia's industrial sector constitutes a significant portion of its economy, comprising 36.8% of the country's GDP and engaging 36% of the labor force. Key contributors to the industrial sector include the electronics industry, automotive industry, and construction industry.

Malaysia boasts a significant construction industry, valued at over RM102.2 billion (US$32 billion). The largest share of this industry is contributed by the construction of non-residential buildings, accounting for 34.6%, followed by the civil engineering sub-sector at 30.6%, residential buildings at 29.7%, and special trades at 5.1%. Among the states, Selangor leads with the highest value of construction work done at 24.5%, followed by Johor at 16.5%, Kuala Lumpur at 15.8%, Sarawak at 8.6%, and Penang at 6.4%. Together, these five states contribute 71.8% of the total value of construction work in Malaysia. The growth of the construction industry has been fueled by major capital expenditure projects, notably driven by the government's Economic Transformation Programme and public-private partnership mega-projects such as Tun Razak Exchange, KVMRT, and Iskandar Malaysia

Malaysia's defence industry is relatively new, spurred by the establishment of the Malaysia Defence Industry Council to promote local participation in the country's defence sector. In the land sector, DefTech, a subsidiary of Malaysia's largest automotive manufacturer, DRB-HICOM, plays a prominent role. Specializing in manufacturing armoured vehicles and specialized logistics vehicles, DefTech has supplied ACV-15 infantry fighting vehicles to the Malaysian Army in the past and is currently providing the DefTech AV8 amphibious multirole armoured vehicle. On the sea front, Boustead Heavy Industries dominates the defence industry. Through technology transfer agreements with foreign companies, they construct warships for the Royal Malaysian Navy. Having previously built 4 Kedah-class offshore patrol vessels for the RMN, Boustead Heavy Industries is currently engaged in a project to construct 6 Second Generation Patrol Vessels for the RMN.