The cultural and creative industry contributed 6.8% to Malaysia’s GDP in 2024, expanding to RM130.7 billion and creating jobs for over 763,000 people.
KUALA LUMPUR: The cultural and creative industry contributed 6.8% to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, reflecting steady growth.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the inaugural 2024 Satellite Cultural and Creative Account showed the industry expanded to RM130.7 billion. This marked a 7.1% increase from a 4.5% contribution in 2023.
“The publication provides detailed statistics estimating the contribution of cultural and creative activities to the Malaysian economy,” he said in a statement.
The core domain of the industry increased to 7.8% in 2024 from 7.0% a year earlier.
This was driven by creative design and services, supported by growth in engineering, architecture, advertising, media, book publishing and audiovisual activities.
The transversal domain rose to 6.6% from 3.1% in 2023.
This growth was supported by multipurpose equipment and devices (8.4%), cultural education (8.1%) and festivals (15%).
Exports of creative products rebounded by 12.4% to RM63 billion in 2024.
This compared with 1.1% growth the previous year.
Imports of creative products recorded double-digit growth of 15.8% to RM43.9 billion.
This eased from an import growth rate of 22.3% in 2023.
Employment in the cultural and creative industry rose 2.8% to 763,100 persons in 2024.
This accounted for 4.7% of total national employment.
Mohd Uzir said the compilation aligns with the System of National Accounts 2008 and the UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics 2025.
These frameworks are also adopted by developed economies and several ASEAN countries.
Separately, he said DOSM will chair the 15th ASEAN Community Statistical System Committee to strengthen regional cooperation.
He also noted that Malaysia ranked first in the 2024/25 Open Data Inventory Survey, a significant improvement from 67th place in 2022/23.
