PUTRAJAYA, Oct. 8 -- Malaysians spent an average of RM5,566 a month in 2024, with the biggest share of household expenditure going towards housing, utilities, and dining out, according to the latest Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The survey was launched by Minister of Economy Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan in Putrajaya today.

"HIES is a key statistical instrument that's used to measure socioeconomic progress of households.

"It's one of the main sources for policy making in order to eradicate poverty, increase income and reduce the social gap between the rich and poor with regards to cost of living," he said.

The data showed that housing, water, electricity, gas a...