The World Already Depends on Us

Ask a Malaysian what we're good at and you get a shrug. Here's the actual answer 🇲🇾

Here is the full list, and what each name on it actually does.

Medical gloves — ~45% of world supply. Malaysia is still the single largest source, ahead of China.

The Big Four — Top Glove · Hartalega · Kossan · Supermax. Over USD 3.5 billion shipped in 2024.

Where they go — 195+ countries. Almost every health system on earth.

Palm oil — World's #2 producer. About a third of global supply.

2024 output — 19.3 million tonnes. Crude palm oil, from ~5.6 million hectares.

Chip packaging & test — 13% of the global market. The step every chip must pass through.

Semiconductor exports — 6th largest in the world. Ahead of countries far bigger than us.

Jobs in chips — ~590,000 Malaysians. Mostly in Penang, Kedah and Melaka.

Every entry above was checked against public reporting before publication. We publish these lists because the individual facts are easy to find but nobody puts them side by side, and the picture only shows up when you do. If we have missed someone who belongs here, tell us and we will add them.