Malaysia’s active business establishments reach 1.33 million in 2025

Malaysia had 1.33 million active business establishments in 2025, an increase of 22.1 per cent from 1.09 million in 2022, according to preliminary Economic Census 2026 findings from the Statistics Department. Services contributed most to the expansion.

The department counted 1.17 million services establishments, representing 87.5 per cent of businesses nationwide. Construction accounted for 86,200 establishments, manufacturing for 61,000, agriculture for 18,300, and mining and quarrying for 1,100.

Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor had the largest business counts. Together, they recorded 643,355 active establishments, equivalent to 48.3 per cent of the national figure.

Wholesale and retail businesses represented 39.5 per cent of services establishments. Food and beverage services contributed 14.2 per cent, while personal services and other activities made up 12.4 per cent.

Financial services led annual growth in establishment numbers at 14.7 per cent, ahead of accommodation at 14.5 per cent. Food and beverage services recorded growth of 6.6 per cent, followed by administrative and support services at 6.1 per cent, professional services at 5.5 per cent and real estate at 5.1 per cent.

The census also counted 93,597 informal establishments, among them street vendors and mobile businesses. Holiday home activities accounted for 71,101 units, the department said.

Of 1.34 million establishments enumerated, 99.3 per cent were active. Detailed results are scheduled for April 2027 after further processing and analysis of the data.