Others (operating)RM141.97 bilion · 34.9%
Operating: RM141.97 bilion · Development: RM0.00 bilionHow much did the government actually spend by sector?
Compare actual operating and development expenditure by federal government function from 2020 through 2023, including education and training and health subfunctions—not merely ministry allocations.
These four actual years come from MOF's 2024 and 2025 statistical tables. The 2024 actual year is withheld from this series pending a complete source cross-check. Estimates for 2025–2026 are shown separately.
MOF actual expenditure
2023 · Operating + developmentRM407.36 bilionPublished MOF function-level totals in nominal ringgit.
Sector breakdown
Social servicesRM130.82 bilion · 32.1%
Operating: RM106.57 bilion · Development: RM24.25 bilionEconomic servicesRM78.89 bilion · 19.4%
Operating: RM21.65 bilion · Development: RM57.24 bilionDefence and securityRM38.81 bilion · 9.5%
Operating: RM27.42 bilion · Development: RM11.38 bilionGeneral administrationRM16.88 bilion · 4.1%
Operating: RM13.66 bilion · Development: RM3.23 bilionAll bars use a shared scale across four years. Operating ‘Others’ includes debt service, pensions and transfers; it is not one public-service sector.
Sector spending history, 2020–2023
Direct values for each year, rather than a misleading race animation based on only four observations.
| Function | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social services | 109.67 | 113.57 | 122.84 | 130.82 |
| Economic services | 45.45 | 48.33 | 60.76 | 78.89 |
| Defence and security | 30.57 | 32.32 | 34.53 | 38.80 |
| General administration | 15.61 | 17.36 | 15.56 | 16.88 |
| Others (operating) | 74.66 | 84.19 | 130.57 | 141.97 |
| Total | 275.96 | 295.77 | 364.27 | 407.36 |
What changed since 2020?
Nominal RM comparison, without inflation adjustment.
DOSM annual CPI available · 2024 base
Education and health are social-service subfunctions, not ministry allocations. Consumer CPI is not a government procurement deflator. The baseline is 2020, not pre-pandemic.
Spending rose — how much after inflation?
Four years of MOF actual accounts. Blue shows nominal spending; orange shows approximate 2024-ringgit purchasing power using DOSM consumer CPI. Every point has a visible value.
Education and training
● Nominal RM● 2024 RM equivalent
Change 2020–2023Nominal RM: +21.3%After CPI adjustment: +11.7%
Health
● Nominal RM● 2024 RM equivalent
Change 2020–2023Nominal RM: +19.6%After CPI adjustment: +10.1%
Consumer CPI provides only a broad purchasing-power comparison, not government procurement cost deflation or a measure of service quality.
Education and healthcare: spending by function
These education and health amounts are subfunctions of social services. They are already included in social totals, so never add them again. They are not necessarily the budget of any one ministry.
| Function | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education and training | 63.24 | 65.04 | 70.96 | 76.73 |
| Health | 31.12 | 33.58 | 34.90 | 37.21 |
Nominal amounts without inflation adjustment. Higher spending does not by itself establish better education or health outcomes.
Methodology, sources and comparison limits
We use Table 3.2 (Operating Expenditure by Sector) and Table 3.3 (Development Expenditure by Sector) in the MOF Fiscal Outlook. Actuals for 2020–2022 are sourced from the 2024 edition and 2023 actuals from the 2025 edition. Each function is reconciled with the published aggregate totals.
Education and training and health are subcategories already within social services. They are not identical to MOE, MOHE or MOH ministry budget totals and must not be added again to the social sector aggregate.
Operating Others includes debt service, pensions and transfers. The combined sector total uses gross development spending, before loan recoveries. Amounts are nominal RM; changes are not evidence of government performance.
MOF source 2024 · 2020 ↗MOF source 2025 · 2023 ↗Development-only history (JANM) →Ministry-level archives →
Validated coverage: 2020–2023