KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's poorest households are left with just 1.8 per cent of gross income after consumption expenses in 2024, down sharply from 10.8 per cent in 2019, as rising spending eroded their financial buffers.
Median monthly household expenditure reached RM4,758 in 2024, growing at an annualised rate of 5.3 per cent from 2022 compared with 5.1 per cent annual growth in median household income to RM7,017, according to Khazanah Research Institute (KRI).
KRI, in its "From Income to Wellbeing: The State of Households 2026" report, said expenditure among the bottom 10 per cent of households by income rose 21.3 per cent between 2019 and 2024.
Across the bottom 70 per cent of households, spending increased by more than 15 per cent over the same period, while expenditure among the top 10 per cent barely changed.
The shrinking financial buffer leaves poorer households with less capacity to absorb further increases in living costs or build savings.
KRI noted that the residual income measure excludes other outgoings, including taxes, loan repayments and transfers to other households, which would further reduce the amount available for savings.
Health and lifestyle trends also add to household pressures. Malaysian households spent an average of RM902.70 a month eating out in 2024, exceeding the RM875.80 spent on food at home.
Meanwhile, 54.4 per cent of Malaysian adults were overweight or obese in 2023, while physical activity declined between 2019 and 2023, the report found.
KRI said household wellbeing must be assessed beyond income and expenditure, taking into account health and other factors that affect living standards.
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