Indonesia vs Malaysia: Share of global plastic waste imports
Indonesia
5.5%
in 2023
Malaysia
9.1%
in 2024
Indonesia rank
7th
Malaysia rank
4th
Share of global plastic waste imports over time
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
How they compare
Malaysia currently reports 9.1% against 5.5% in Indonesia, a difference of 3.6%.
That makes Malaysia's figure about 1.7 times Indonesia's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 34 shared years of data; in 1989 it was Malaysia ahead.
Indonesia ranks 7th and Malaysia ranks 4th of 183 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Indonesia averaged higher in 1 and Malaysia in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Indonesia | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.5% | 6.6% | 1.2% | Malaysia |
| 1990s | 2.9% | 1.7% | 1.2% | Indonesia |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.4% | Malaysia |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 3.2% | 1.7% | Malaysia |
| 2020s | 3.9% | 5.2% | 1.4% | Malaysia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of global plastic waste imports, Indonesia or Malaysia?
- Malaysia, at 9.1% against 5.5% in Indonesia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of global plastic waste imports between Indonesia and Malaysia?
- 3.6%, with Malaysia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Indonesia and Malaysia?
- 34 years are reported by both, from 1989 to 2023.
- How do Indonesia and Malaysia rank globally for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Indonesia ranks 7th 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.