Malaysian households took home close to RM1,000 more per month last year compared to 2009, a government survey on incomes found.

The Department of Statistics Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey 2012 found that Malaysian households earned an average RM5,000 a month last year, up a significant 24 percent from 2009 when the same survey was last conducted.

This about tracks the growth of overall gross national income (GNI).

The figures mean that each person in a Malaysian household (assuming 4.2 persons per household) took home an average of RM1,190.50 a month in 2012, up by RM254 a month in 2009.

This works out to RM14,286 per year.

The figure, however, is about a third of the RM48,000 annual GNI per capita high income target which the Performance Management and Delivery Unit believes can be hit by 2018.

The GNI per capita income target set includes incomes of corporations and businesses, plus net income from abroad.

Lagging rural household incomes

The income growth from 2009 to 2012, however, was higher in the cities, with rural household average monthly income lagging by close to more than RM2,600.

Urban households earned on average RM5,742 a month while rural households earned RM3,080.

Those living in the Kuala Lumpur area enjoyed the largest income growth, earning RM3,000 more than the national average in 2009.

Annual growth rate was also double that of the national rate.

The surge in the incomes of KL-ites pulled up the national average, with most other states registering average monthly income lower than the RM5,000 national average in 2012.

Average monthly household income in 2012 was lowest in Kelantan at RM3,168, but the state had seen incomes growing at a significant rate of 7.4 percent every year.

Among the states whose household incomes grew at a slower rate of four to five percent are Penang, Malacca and Pahang.

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