Malaysia nears developed status

KUALA LUMPUR: MALAYSIA has passed an important milestone and is on its way to developed country status.

World Bank data show that the Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at US$10,830 (RM47,745) last year has, for the first time, exceeded the average of all nations worldwide of US$10,804.

By comparison, in 2010, the national per capita GDP was US$8,752, some eight per cent below the then-world average of US$9,513.

This achievement was noted in a review of Malaysia’s Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC), which conducted its fifth annual meeting in New York City yesterday.

GSIAC, Malaysia’s “kitchen cabinet” of national and international sustainable development advisers, is mandated with helping the country achieve US$15,000 per capita GDP, which is the threshold for developed country status, by 2020.

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