All states record positive growth, 5 states outperform national growth rate: Chief statistician

All states record positive growth, 5 states outperform national growth rate: Chief statistician

30 Jun 2022

The economic performance of all states registered positive growth in 2021, with five states recording a better growth rate than the 3.1 per cent growth rate at the national level.

Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the five states were Penang with a growth rate of 6.8 per cent, followed by Selangor (five per cent), Terengganu (3.6 per cent), Perak (3.5 per cent), and Kedah (3.2 per cent).

“The main drivers of the gross domestic product (GDP) performance were the manufacturing and services sectors. The manufacturing sector was one of the sectors that achieved a positive growth pattern.

“Based on this growth, we expect the nation’s economic growth pattern to grow rapidly in every state, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said in a media briefing on the 2021 economic performance by state here, today.

For the GDP per capita, Mohd Uzir said 13 states and two federal territories registered an increase in the GDP per capita value compared to 2020, with seven states recording a GDP per capita value above the national level of RM47,324, namely the Federal Territory (FT) of Kuala Lumpur (RM124,232) and FT of Labuan (RM78,032), Penang (RM58,527), and Sarawak (RM57,635).

Meanwhile, Selangor recorded RM55,568, Melaka (RM47,799) and Negeri Sembilan (RM47,452).

Mohd Uzir expected the Malaysian economy to continue to expand this year following the increase in services locally and overseas, with the government’s quick action in lessening the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, such as the reopening of the nation’s borders, implementation of aid and economic stimulus packages, as well as the success of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

He said the recovery impact was seen in the improved GDP growth rate of five per cent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 compared with a contraction of 0.5 per cent in Q1 2021.

Mohd Uzir said April 2022 Leading Index, which predicts the economic direction in the short term, also projected that Malaysia’s economic performance would maintain a better trend despite facing an uncertain economic condition due to differences in the rate and time for countries that have reopened their economic activities.

Source: Bernama