# Malaysia and Thailand compared Malaysia and Thailand side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, their chronicles record no events of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/mys-vs-tha 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 - Malaysia: 31 August 1957 — The Federation of Malaya becomes independent of Britain - Thailand: 1238 — Si Inthrathit founds the Phra Ruang dynasty at Sukhothai ## Economy | Metric | Malaysia | Observed | Thailand | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $422 B | 2024 | $527 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $11,874 | 2024 | $7,347 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 5.1% | 2024 | 2.5% | 2024 | | Inflation | 1.8% | 2024 | 1.4% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 137.4% | 2024 | 136.7% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Malaysia | Observed | Thailand | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 36 m | 2024 | 72 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 76.8 yrs | 2024 | 76.6 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 76.9% | 2024 | 61.9% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.5 | 2024 | 1.2 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Malaysia | Observed | Thailand | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 54.6 | 2024 | 47.1 | 2024 | | Political stability | 72.5 | 2024 | 54.2 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 69.1 | 2024 | 56.3 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 65.6 | 2024 | 56.5 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 62.9 | 2024 | 53.3 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 57.9 | 2024 | 37.2 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Malaysia | Observed | Thailand | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 4.0% | 2023 | 4.5% | 2023 | | Physicians | 2.34 | 2023 | 0.54 | 2021 | | Under-5 mortality | 8.3 | 2024 | 9.0 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 96.0% | 2024 | 93.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 94.7% | 2024 | — | — | ## Education | Metric | Malaysia | Observed | Thailand | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 95.8% | 2022 | 91.1% | 2022 | | Education spending | 3.5% | 2023 | 2.5% | 2023 | | Primary enrolment | 90.4% | 2024 | 100.7% | 2025 | | Secondary enrolment | 80.3% | 2024 | 92.1% | 2025 | | Tertiary enrolment | 38.5% | 2024 | 49.1% | 2025 | ## Technology | Metric | Malaysia | Observed | Thailand | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 1.0% | 2022 | 0.9% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 1,218 | 2022 | 1,592 | 2023 | | Internet users | 98.0% | 2024 | 90.9% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 140 | 2024 | 161 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 58.6% | 2024 | 28.3% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Malaysia | Observed | Thailand | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 328,550 km² | 2023 | 510,890 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 57.7% | 2023 | 38.7% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 26.1% | 2023 | 43.8% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 8.3 | 2024 | 4.0 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 7.5% | 2021 | 19.0% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Malaysia | Observed | Thailand | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 6.9% | 2021 | 1.8% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 1.8% | 2021 | 0.5% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 1.7% | 2021 | 0.4% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | | Rare earths | 110 t | 2025 | 4,800 t | 2025 | ## Military | Metric | Malaysia | Observed | Thailand | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.0% | 2024 | 1.1% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $4.3 B | 2024 | $5.5 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 136,000 | 2020 | 455,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/MYS.md and https://terralore.co/country/THA.md. ## Entangled histories (0 events) Neither nation's sourced chronicle names the other — across both archives, no recorded event crosses between them. That is a fact about the two records as they stand, not a gap filled here. ## 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/MYS/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/THA/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Malaysia and Thailand compared", terralore.co/compare/mys-vs-tha, retrieved .