The Model Index
World/Asia
AI access, cost and use · South-eastern Asia · Asia · data read 1 Oct 2026

Malaysia

In Malaysia, a $20-a-month AI plan costs 5.6% of the median living standard, 7.1 times the share it takes in the United States; for 21% of people it is over a tenth of what they live on. Claude, OpenAI's API and Gemini are all officially offered. 98% of people use the internet, and Claude use per working-age person is 0.87 times the world average.

5.6%of the median living standard for a $20 planAsia median 13% · United States 0.79%
21%of people for whom the plan is over a tenth of their living standardabout 7.6 m people
3of 3leading services officially offeredClaude · OpenAI · Gemini
98%of people use the internetworld 74% · 36 m people

The figuresMalaysia

People36 m
Median living standard$4,282a year per person · income
A $20 plan takes5.6%of that · 7.1× the US share
For whom it is over a tenth21%of people
Survey2021revalued at 2025 prices
GNI per person$12,380plan is 1.9% of it
Claude use per person0.87×world average = 1
Notable AI models built here1

Officially offered here3 of 3

Run it yourself →
Claude · claude.ai appYes
OpenAI · APIYes
Gemini · web appYes

From each lab's own published list: Anthropic's Claude.ai countries, OpenAI's API countries and Google's Gemini web app countries. Not listed means not officially served; open-weight models can be run anywhere.

Against Asia and the worldregional figures are medians or population-weighted

MeasureMalaysiaAsiaWorld
A $20 plan ÷ median living standard5.6%13%9.9%
People for whom it is over a tenth21%72%63%
Plan price ÷ GNI per person1.9%3.9%2.9%
People using the internet98%76%74%
Claude use per working-age person0.87×0.43×1.00×
Notable AI models built12831,256

What it is used forMalaysia against the world

Report ↗
Malaysia
Work 46%
Personal 34%
Coursework 20%
The world
Work 42%
Personal 41%
Coursework 17%
Share of the world's Claude use0.51%0.44% of the world's people
Work46%world 42%
Personal34%world 41%
Coursework20%world 17%
Handed over to the model (automation)47%world 48%

Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026: Claude.ai conversations by country. One product from one lab, so read it as a signal of who is using frontier models, not a census.

What people make with itshare of conversations

Document or report16%
Explanation or answer15%
Advice or recommendation9%
Analysis or summary5%

The most common things people in Malaysia ask Claude to produce.

NeighboursSouth-eastern Asia · lightest burden first

CountryPeopleOnline$20 plan ÷ median living standardOver a tenthClaude use per personOfficial lists
Malaysia36 m98%5.6%21%0.87×3 of 3
Thailand72 m91%11%56%0.73×3 of 3
Viet Nam102 m84%14%73%0.53×3 of 3
Indonesia286 m73%27%93%0.46×3 of 3
Philippines117 m67%27%94%0.44×3 of 3
Lao People's Democratic Republic7.9 m66%33%97%not reported3 of 3
Myanmar55 m45%no estimate–not reported2 of 3
Cambodia18 m68%no estimate–0.21×3 of 3
Singapore6.1 m94%no estimate–5.81×3 of 3
Timor-Leste1.4 m35%no estimate–not reported3 of 3
Brunei Darussalam466k96%no estimate–not reported3 of 3
All countries →

The foundationsMalaysia against the world

World Bank ↗
People using the internet
98%world 74%
People with electricity
100%world 92%
Mobile subscriptions per 100 people
140world 112
Fixed broadband lines per 100 people
13.5world 20.1
Enrolled in university-level education
39%world 44%
Research spending, share of GDP
1.01%world 2.6%
Researchers per million people
1,218world 1,652
Secure internet servers per million people
7,475world 16,381

The latest World Bank figure for each measure. The tick marks the world figure.

A $20-a-month plan ($240 a year, US list price) against the median household living standard per person in each country. The median is from the latest national household survey (World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform), revalued from 2021 purchasing-power dollars into US dollars at recent prices and official exchange rates, assuming real living standards have not changed since the survey. Some surveys measure income and others consumption, which includes food people grow and housing they own, so this is a living standard, not cash to spare. Countries with no survey since 2015 or no defensible exchange rate are left blank.

World Bank household surveys ↗Anthropic countries ↗OpenAI countries ↗Gemini countries ↗Anthropic Economic Index ↗Epoch AI notable models ↗