Health inflation in Malaysia more than doubles to 3pc in 2025, says Stats Dept

DOSM said the increase was driven by the Health Services category, which recorded a significant rise of 4.4 per cent as compared to 0.9 per cent in 2024, which contributed by the Insurance connected with health expenditure class that increased by 9.1 per cent in 2025 (2024: 0.0%). — iStock pic

First Published: Tuesday, 10 Nov 2026 3:05 PM MYT

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 10 — Health Inflation increased 3.0 per cent in 2025 as compared to 1.3 per cent in 2024, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

It said the increase was driven by the Health Services category, which recorded a significant rise of 4.4 per cent as compared to 0.9 per cent in 2024, which contributed by the Insurance connected with health expenditure class that increased by 9.1 per cent in 2025 (2024: 0.0%).

The Medicine category represents the largest weight, accounting for 38.9 per cent in Health Price Index (HPI), recorded an increase of 2.8 per cent in 2025, compared with 2.2 per cent in the previous year. 

“The increase was driven by the Medicines expenditure class, which includes the Medicines, vaccines & other pharmaceutical preparations and Herbal medicines & homeopathic products expenditure subclasses.

“Both subclasses recorded increases of 4.5 per cent in 2025 as compared to 2.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent in 2024, respectively,” DOSM said in a statement accompanying the Annual Health Price Index 2025 report released today.

This report provides the HPI (2022=100) and Health Inflation, which takes into account both treatment and prevention healthcare aspects comprising three categories, namely Medicine, Medical Devices and Health Services at the national level.

DOSM released the HPI for the first time, presenting detailed findings following the release of the Preliminary Report on Malaysia Health Price Index 2025 in July 2026. The statistics measure changes in the prices of healthcare-related goods and services purchased by households. 

The development of the HPI is an initiative by DOSM, in collaboration with relevant health-related agencies from both the public and private sectors and through the integration of data from various sources.

Meanwhile, the department said the Medical Devices category also increased 1.1 per cent (2024: 0.6 per cent), driven by the Medical products expenditure class, 1.3 per cent (2024: 0.6 per cent). 

The increase was contributed by the Medical diagnostic products expenditure subclass, which recorded an increase of 1.6 per cent, as compared to 0.3 per cent in 2024.

The compilation of Malaysia HPI incorporates health-related components from three groups in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), namely the Health group, the Insurance and Financial Services group and the Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods and Services group.

The HPI complements the indicators of health-related inflation and helps the government, stakeholders and the public identify trends in the healthcare cost movements, thereby supporting more effective planning, implementation and monitoring in the healthcare sector. — Bernama