Malaysia
Malaysia is classified as a decentralized state-level public-religious zakat system. State Islamic Religious Councils and state-level zakat institutions act as apex authorities within their respective jurisdictions. Collection and distribution are integrated in many states, but separated in some cases.
Governance model: Voluntary public system
Last updated · Beta, data under verification
At a glance
- Centralization Level
- Level 4 Federal/state-level public system
- Apex Institution
- State Islamic Religious Councils
- Collection / Distribution
- Same entity collects and distributes
- Shariah Supervision
- State religious authority
- Transparency Level
- Level 2 Occasional reports
- Data Availability
- Level 4 Regular reports with collection/distribution data
- Data Confidence
- Medium
Annual collection
| Year | Collected (local currency) | Collected (USD) | Share of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.6 bn RM | USD 844.9 m | 0.18% |
| 2023 | 4.5 bn RM | USD 981.1 m | 0.25% |
Preliminary CIRIC assessment
Malaysia is classified as a decentralized state-level public-religious zakat system. State Islamic Religious Councils and state-level zakat institutions act as apex authorities within their respective jurisdictions. Collection and distribution are integrated in many states, but separated in some cases
NB: Malaysia’s zakat collection data are compiled from state-level institutions. The 2025 figure is partial because several states remain under update in the JAWHAR dataset. The 2023 figure is used as a provisional reference year for national comparison, although Perlis is not available. Potential zakat
Annual collection volume:
RM 4.47bn ≈ USD 981.1m, 2023, based on reported state-level JAWHAR data. Perlis not available.
2025 update:
RM 3.62bn ≈ USD 844.9m reported so far, but the 2025 series is incomplete because several states, including Selangor, remain under update.
Collection as share of GDP:
Approx. 0.245% of GDP, using 2023 current GDP and average 2023 exchange rate.
2025 partial collection as share of GDP:
Approx. 0.18% of 2025 GDP, but this should be displayed only as a lower-bound partial figure.
Zakat potential:
USD 3.01bn–7.26bn, 2004 model-based estimate from Shirazi et al. (2009), corresponding to 1.09%–2.62% of GDP depending on the zakat-base definition used.