Malaysia’s economy expanded by about 5.8% in Q2 2026, led by broad-based sector growth: DOSM

Growth was driven by the services, manufacturing, mining and quarrying, and construction sectors, while the agriculture sector contracted. The economy also rose 1.7% quarter-on-quarter, reversing the 4.4% decline in Q1 2026.

Malaysia’s economy is estimated to have expanded by 5.8% in the second quarter of 2026, accelerating from 5.4% in the first quarter, according to advance GDP estimates released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The estimate points to broad-based growth across most major sectors, with the exception of agriculture, which contracted during the quarter. For the first half of 2026, Malaysia’s economy grew by 5.6%, compared with 4.5% in the corresponding period of 2025.

The services sector remained the largest contributor to growth, rising 5.4% in the second quarter. While this was marginally below the 5.6% recorded in the preceding quarter, the sector was supported by wholesale and retail trade, information and communication, and transportation and storage.

Manufacturing strengthened to 7.5%, up from 5.9% in the first quarter, driven by export-oriented industries. Electrical, electronic and optical products, alongside petroleum, chemicals, rubber and plastics products, were among the key contributors.

At the same time, the mining and quarrying sector recorded the sharpest turnaround, expanding 10.2% after a 2.1% contraction in Q1 2026. The recovery was driven primarily by the natural gas sub-sector.

Over in construction, the sector grew 6.6%, moderating from 7.7% in the previous quarter. Growth was supported by non-residential building activity, particularly data centre construction projects, as well as specialised construction activities.

Agriculture, however, was the only sector to decline, contracting 3.7% after growing 2.6% in the first quarter. DOSM attributed the fall to weaker performance across all sub-sectors except other agriculture and livestock.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Malaysia’s economy rose 1.7%, reversing the 4.4% decline recorded in the first quarter.

DOSM is due to release preliminary GDP data, including a more detailed assessment of second-quarter economic performance, on 14 August 2026.

READ MORE: Employment in Malaysia rises to 16.82mn in May 2026 as labour market remains resilient

Lead image / DOSM

Infographics / DOSM's Advance GDP Estimates, Second Quarter of 2026