Germany vs Malaysia: Share of global plastic waste imports
Germany
10.8%
in 2024
Malaysia
9.1%
in 2024
Germany rank
3rd
Malaysia rank
4th
Share of global plastic waste imports over time
- Germany
- Malaysia
How they compare
Germany currently reports 10.8% against 9.1% in Malaysia, a difference of 1.7%.
That makes Germany's figure about 1.2 times Malaysia's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 34 shared years of data; in 1991 it was Germany ahead.
Germany ranks 3rd and Malaysia ranks 4th of 183 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 3 and Malaysia in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.7% | 1.1% | 2.5% | Germany |
| 2000s | 1.8% | 0.5% | 1.3% | Germany |
| 2010s | 3.9% | 3.2% | 0.8% | Germany |
| 2020s | 5.9% | 6.3% | 0.4% | Malaysia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of global plastic waste imports, Germany or Malaysia?
- Germany, at 10.8% against 9.1% in Malaysia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of global plastic waste imports between Germany and Malaysia?
- 1.7%, with Germany ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Malaysia?
- 34 years are reported by both, from 1991 to 2024.
- How do Germany and Malaysia rank globally for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Germany ranks 3rd and Malaysia ranks 4th of 183 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.