KUCHING: Sarawak has maintained its position as a high-income state in Malaysia for the third year running, based on the latest Gross National Income (GNI) per capita data for 2024 released by the World Bank.
According to a news report by TVS, World Bank Lead Economist for Malaysia, Dr Apurva Sanghi, in a post on X, stated that Sarawak recorded a GNI per capita of RM73,100 – surpassing the high-income threshold of RM63,800 set under the World Bank’s Atlas method.
With this figure, Sarawak ranks fourth among Malaysia’s high-income states, behind the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (RM135,800), Federal Territory of Labuan (RM86,700), and Penang (RM75,700), and ahead of Selangor (RM65,600).
In total, two states and two federal territories have exceeded the high-income threshold, while the national average GNI per capita remains at RM53,400.
“Malaysia’s GNI per capita of RM53,400 is still below the high-income threshold of RM63,800, but the country is on the right track to achieving high-income status by 2030,” Dr Apurva was quoted as saying.
The World Bank uses the Atlas method as a benchmark to determine the high-income status of countries and states, with the current threshold set at approximately USD14,000 (around RM59,640) annually.
In 2023, Sarawak’s GNI per capita stood at RM70,536 (USD16,560), placing it fourth among Malaysia’s top five high-income states.
Sarawak first earned recognition as a high-income state by the World Bank in 2022, when it surpassed the threshold with a GNI per capita of RM56,213 (USD13,205).
