share on
The MyWI stood at 121.3 points in 2023, up from 120.4 in 2022. According to Chief Statistician Dato’ Sri Mohd Uzir Mahidin, this indicated the community's ability to adapt to the reality of post-pandemic life.
Malaysia’s Department of Statistics released its Wellbeing Index Report 2023 (MyWI) on 4 December 2024 to measure the wellbeing of Malaysians from both an economic and social perspective.
Economic sub-composite
The MyWI report comprises five economic components, namely
- Transportation,
- Communication,
- Education,
- Income and distribution and
- Working life.
The economic wellbeing sub-composite showed mixed results in 2023:
- Increases were observed in:
- Transportation: +2.4%
- Education: +0.8%
- Communication: +0.2%
- Decreases included:
- Working life index: -0.6% (from 125.3 in 2022 to 124.5 in 2023), driven by higher industrial accidents, travel accidents, and trade disputes.
- Income & distribution index: -0.1% (from 129.0 in 2022 to 128.9 in 2023), due to lower gross national income (GNI) per capita.
Social sub-composite
There are nine social components which are
- Housing,
- Entertainment and recreation,
- Public safety,
- Social participation,
- Governance,
- Culture,
- Health,
- Environment and
- Family
Similarly, the social wellbeing sub-composite in 2023 showed mixed trends:
Increases
Six components recorded growth:
- Culture: +6.0%
- Entertainment & recreation: +2.2%
- Family: +2.2%
- Social participation: +1.2%
- Governance: +1.0%
- Health: +0.8%
Decreases
Three components saw declines:
- Environment index: -3.9% (from 110.3 in 2022 to 106.0 in 2023), due to worsening water quality, air quality, and higher temperatures.
- Public safety index: -1.3% (from 129.3 in 2022 to 127.6 in 2023), due to rising crime rates and traffic accidents.
- Housing index: -0.2% (from 118.4 in 2022 to 118.2 in 2023).
According to Chief Statistician Dato’ Sri Mohd Uzir Mahidin, "the Malaysian wellbeing in 2023 recorded a continuous increase by 0.7%, indicating the community's ability to adapt to the reality of post-pandemic life.
"Overall, MyWI increased by 21.3 index points over the past 23 years. The economic wellbeing sub-composite index rose by 30.7 index points for the period of 2023 as compared to 2000. Similarly, the social wellbeing sub-composite index increased by 16.0 index points for the same period."
Here is a simple breakdown of the data:
- The MyWI performance in 2023 improved from 121.3 points in 2023 compared to 120.4 points in the preceding year.
- Both wellbeing sub-composites showed an increase in 2023.
- The economic wellbeing sub-composite index recording an increase of 0.5% in 2023 to 130.7 points as compared to 130.0 points in 2022
- The social wellbeing sub-composite index increased by 0.8% to 116.0 points in the same period.
The country’s recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic crisis two years ago continues to positively impact the Malaysian wellbeing. This is evident from the performance of MyWI in 2023, which shows that all component indices recorded values exceeding the base index of the year 2000.
In this article, we will be focusing on the social wellbeing data of the report.
Entertainment and recreation
Between 2000 to 2023, the entertainment and recreation index increased by 25.2 index points. The index also increased 2.7 index points in 2023 as compared to 2022, driven by an increase in the number of domestic hotel guests and cinemagoers.
Public safety
The public safety index recorded an increase of 27.6 index points from 2000 to 2023. However, this index declined by 1.7 index points to 127.6 points in 2023 as compared to 129.3 points in 2022. This decrease was attributed to an increase in the number of road accidents and a rise in the crime rate.
Social participation
The social participation index saw significant growth, rising by 30.8 points from 2000 to 2023. In 2023 alone, it increased by an additional 1.5 points compared to 2022, driven by improvements across all indicators.
Governance
The governance index increased by 19.9 index points from 2000 to 2023. In 2023, it rose by an additional 1.2 index points as compared to 2022, driven by an increase in the percentage of cases solved by the Public Complaints Bureau and the number of e-payment transactions.
Culture
Throughout the period from 2000 to 2023, the culture index increased by 1.4 index points. In 2023, this index rose by 5.7 index points as compared to 2022. This increase in the Culture Index was driven by improvements in all indicators.
Health
The health index showed steady growth from 2000 to 2023, increasing by 12.6 points overall. In 2023, it rose by 0.9 points compared to 2022, reflecting improved health care services across most indicators. These include:
- Increased hospital bed availability
- Higher life expectancy at birth
- Lower infant mortality rate
- Lower maternal mortality ratio
- Improved doctor-to-population ratio
- Higher immunisation coverage for:
- DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus) in infants
- MMR (Mumps, Measles, Rubella) in children aged 1 to under 2 years
This highlights notable advancements in public health infrastructure and outcomes.
Environment
For the period from 2000 to 2023, the environment index increased by 6.0 index points. However, this index declined by 4.3 index points in 2023 as compared to 2022, due to water quality, air quality and maximum mean temperature.
Family
The family index recorded an increase of 2.4 index points from the year 2000 to 2023. This index increased by 2.2 index points in 2023 as compared to 2022. The decrease in divorce rate, domestic violence cases, dependency ratio, children involved in crime and increased in mean monthly household income, contributed to the improvement in family wellbeing.
Here is a summary of the insights of the economic wellbeing sub-composite:
- In 2023, the transportation index rose to 134.7 points as compared to 131.6 points in 2022, marking a growth of 3.1 index points, attributed to the increased number of train passengers, following the addition of three new Northern KTM Komuter stations, Ipoh, Sungai Siput and Kuala Kangsar.
- In 2023, the communication index reached 129.4 points as compared to 129.2 points in 2022, with an increase of 0.2 index points, supported by the rising percentage of individuals using the internet and mobile phones.
- The education index increased by 1.1 index points in 2023 as compared to 2022, driven by improvements across all indicators in the education index except for the percentage of students completing secondary school.
- There was a decline of 0.1 index points in the income and distribution index in 2023 as compared to 2022, attributed to decreases in the gross national income per capita (GNI).
- The working life index declined by 0.8 index points in 2023 compared to 2022, driven by an increase in the industrial and travel accidents rate and the number of trade disputes.
- The housing index decreased by 0.2 index points in 2023, as compared to 2022
MyWI performance according to state
The Chief Statistician stated that at the state level, the MyWI performance showed that five states recorded an increase in index points in 2023 as compared to 2022.
“Terengganu still remained unchanged while the remaining eight states recorded a decrease in index points for the same period. Three states with the highest increase in 2023 as compared to 2022 were Perlis (1.4%) followed by Johor (1.0%) and Pahang (0.5%).
“Conversely, the three states which recorded the highest decreased were Sabah (-2.2%), Wilayah Persekutuan (-0.8%) and Pulau Pinang (-0.7%).”
Economic sub-composite
In 2023, most states experienced a decline in the economic sub-composite index, except for three states that recorded an increase compared to 2022.
The largest decreases were observed in:
- Sabah: Down 3.4 points, reaching 126.2 points.
- Kedah: Down 1.5 points, reaching 126.5 points.
- Negeri Sembilan: Down 1.1 points, reaching 125.2 points.
These declines were primarily attributed to reductions in the transportation and working life components in these states.
Social sub-composite
From the perspective of the social wellbeing sub-composite, in 2023, the index declined in eight out of 14 states.
The largest decreases were recorded in:
- Sabah: Down 2.1 points to 109.8 points.
- Wilayah Persekutuan: Down 1.1 points to 110.3 points.
- Pulau Pinang: Down 0.7 points to 113.6 points.
The decline in these states was primarily driven by reductions in the environment, governance, public safety, and housing components.
For more information on the MyWI report, click here.
READ MORE: How informal and formal sector employment fared in Malaysia in 2023: DOSM
Lead image and infographics / DOSM
share on
Follow us on Telegram and on Instagram @humanresourcesonline for all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region!
Related topics
