# Indonesia and Malaysia compared

Indonesia and Malaysia side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 1 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/idn-vs-mys
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Indonesia: 17 August 1945 — Sukarno and Hatta proclaim Indonesian independence
- Malaysia: 31 August 1957 — The Federation of Malaya becomes independent of Britain

## Economy

| Metric | Indonesia | Observed | Malaysia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $1.40 T | 2024 | $422 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $4,925 | 2024 | $11,874 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 5.0% | 2024 | 5.1% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 2.2% | 2024 | 1.8% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 42.6% | 2024 | 137.4% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Indonesia | Observed | Malaysia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 283 m | 2024 | 36 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 71.3 yrs | 2024 | 76.8 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 58.8% | 2024 | 76.9% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 2.1 | 2024 | 1.5 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Indonesia | Observed | Malaysia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 53.8 | 2024 | 54.6 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 55.5 | 2024 | 72.5 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 54.8 | 2024 | 69.1 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 56.8 | 2024 | 65.6 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 53.4 | 2024 | 62.9 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 36.8 | 2024 | 57.9 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Indonesia | Observed | Malaysia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 2.7% | 2023 | 4.0% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 0.52 | 2023 | 2.34 | 2023 |
| Under-5 mortality | 17.7 | 2024 | 8.3 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 85.0% | 2024 | 96.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 30.5% | 2024 | 94.7% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Indonesia | Observed | Malaysia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 96.0% | 2020 | 95.8% | 2022 |
| Education spending | 1.3% | 2023 | 3.5% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 100.4% | 2025 | 90.4% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 97.2% | 2025 | 80.3% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 44.9% | 2023 | 38.5% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Indonesia | Observed | Malaysia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.3% | 2020 | 1.0% | 2022 |
| Researchers (per million) | 395 | 2020 | 1,218 | 2022 |
| Internet users | 72.8% | 2024 | 98.0% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 123 | 2024 | 140 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 8.7% | 2024 | 58.6% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Indonesia | Observed | Malaysia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 1,892,555 km² | 2023 | 328,550 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 47.7% | 2023 | 57.7% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 29.1% | 2023 | 26.1% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 2.9 | 2024 | 8.3 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 20.2% | 2021 | 7.5% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Indonesia | Observed | Malaysia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 5.2% | 2021 | 6.9% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.8% | 2021 | 1.8% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 1.9% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.4% | 2021 | 1.7% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 99.4% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Copper (mined) | 710 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Gold (mined) | 90 t | 2025 | — | — |
| Cobalt (mined) | 44.0 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Nickel (mined) | 2.6 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Bauxite | 10 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Rare earths | — | — | 110 t | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Indonesia | Observed | Malaysia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 0.8% | 2024 | 1.0% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $11 B | 2024 | $4.3 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 676,000 | 2020 | 136,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/IDN.md and https://terralore.co/country/MYS.md.

## Entangled histories (1 event)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1963–1966: **Indonesian Confrontation (Konfrontasi)** — Indonesia's President Sukarno opposes the new federation and wages an undeclared campaign of armed confrontation against Malaysia until 1966, drawing in Britain, Australia and the United States. (from the Malaysia chronicle; sources: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968: Indonesia/Malaysia (Konfrontasi and separation); Malaysia: Political transformation (occupation, federation, NEP))

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/IDN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/MYS/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Indonesia and Malaysia compared", terralore.co/compare/idn-vs-mys, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.