Italy

Introduction
Italia is the Latin term for Italy. It was said that Italia, or Italy got its name
from the Greek word translated as Land of young cattle. Italy, is located in
Southern European Region with a distinctive boot shaped peninsula. This is where it
got its local calling lo Stivale which translates to the boot.
The capital of Italy is Rome. It is the largest and most populated city. It also is
the fourth most populous city in the European Union. The city of Rome in itself has a
population of 4.3 million residents as compared to Italys total population of 61.7
million. It is located on the central western portion of the Italian Peninsula.
Known for its diverse cultures, we will be looking at Malaysia next. Malaysia
used to be known as Tanah Melayu translated as Malay Land up till 1963 when
the Federation of Malaya plus Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak formed a new
federation. Malaysia is the 44th most populous country.
Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia is located in the central western portion
of Peninsula Malaysia. The city of Kuala Lumpur has a population of 1.5 million as
compared to Malaysias total population of 30.1 million.

Demographics
Population
Ranking

Country

23
44

Italy
Malaysia

Population (2014)
(million)
61.7
30.1

As of the year 2014, Italy had a population of 61.7 million. The annual growth
rates are 0.2%, 0.06%, and 0.02% in the years of 2010, 2013, and 2015
respectively. This clearly shows that there has been a large declining state in the
population growth rates of Italy.
Contributing only a meagre 0.8% to the worlds population, Italy has a medium
sized population. Since Italy only has a medium sized population, it must rely on
other countries to boost their economy. This is because the market in Italy is not
sufficiently large enough to self-sustain itself.
As compared to Italy, Malaysia had a population of 30.1 million in the year of 2014.
The annual growth rates are 1.68%, 1.55%, and 1.51% in the years of 2010, 2013,
and 2015 respectively. However, in the year 2015, there has been an increase in
population growth as compared to 2014. Looking from a bigger perspective,
Malaysia still has been having declining population growth rates.

Contributing to only 0.4% to the worlds population, it is half of Italys population.

When categorized, Malaysia falls under the category of countries with a small
population. This means that Malaysia is more reliant on other countries as
compared to Italy. It also means that the Malaysian market is not large enough to
sustain itself.
Economic
Italy is a developed country with a higher income group. It is the 4th largest
national economy in Europe. Italys economy can be said to rely heavily on exports
as they are the 8th largest exporters in the world with 514 USD Billion exported in
2015.
Despite these achievements, Italy is still suffering from many economic
problems. This was mostly due to Italy being hit hard from the 2000s recession. The
stagnation in economic growth ended up with a large public debt.
There is also a considerable divide with the living standards within Italy. This
is where the Northern and Central parts of Italy have higher living standards than
the European Union Average. As compared to the southern countries in Italy which
have significantly lower living standards than the average.
As the fifth most visited country in international tourism, it is surely an
important sector to Italy. With almost 50 million tourists in the year of 2014, it is
estimated that Italy gained a revenue of almost 200 billion euros from the sector.
This is also one of its fastest growing and profitable sectors.
Now we shift our view to our homeland, Malaysia. Malaysia, a land of
diversity, is a developing country with an upper middle income economy. It is the
3rd largest economy in Southeast Asia. Malaysia is also the third richest in
Southeast Asia by GDP per capita behind Singapore and Brunei.
For a countrys economy which originated from raw resources, such as tin and
rubber, Malaysia now has a diversified economy. From exporting raw goods,
Malaysia now exports electrical appliances, palm oil and natural gas. This clearly
shows that exports play a big role in the Malaysian economy.
As of 2015, the government of Malaysia has taken steps to broaden the
revenue base by introducing Goods and Services Tax (GST). Besides an incentive to
get companies to register themselves, perhaps the government has also seen this
as a means of sustaining governmental income from the small population in
Malaysia.

GDP
Ranking
8
34

Country
Italy
Malaysia

GDP (USD Billion)

2141
338

As of the year 2014, Italy had a GDP of 2141 USD billion which puts it on the world
ranking of number 8. The GDP value of Italy makes up 3.5% of the worlds economy.
The GDP of Italy has been ever decreasing since 2008, with certain bounces in
between. However, they are unable to bounce back to the figures they achieved
before.
As a developed country, Italy had an annual GDP growth rate of 1%. This is a good
sign that Italy is still having healthy GDP growth despite being in a mature state.
Since Italy is a developed country, the 1% increase means significant growth in the
economy.
Their large GDP is mostly contributed from their services sector, making up
74.2% of the total GDP. Followed by the industrial sector and agriculture sector with
23.6% and 2.2% respectively.
Taking a look at Malaysia, its GDP is only a seventh of the GDP of Italy with
only 338 Billion USD. This means that Malaysias GDP only makes up 0.5% of the
worlds economy. However, the GDP of Malaysia has been increasing steadily since
2008.
As a developing country Malaysia had a growth rate of 4.2% which is can be
considered as high for a developing country. This is seen to be a normal
phenomenon in developing countries as to have higher GDP growth rates as
compared to those of the developed countries.
Malaysias GDP is made up from a contribution of 56% from the services
sector to the GDP composition. Followed by 35% and 9% from the industrial and
agriculture sector respectively.

GDP per Capita

Ranking
26
61

Country
Italy
Malaysia

GDP per capita (USD)

28000
7300

The GDP per capita of Italy is 28000 USD, which puts it on the world ranking
of 26. This is due to the fact that the population of Italy is higher than certain
countries of the world which leads to lower levels of GDP per capita.
With such a high GDP per capita, we can say that the cost of living in Italy is
quite high. This would also mean that the standards of living in Italy would be better
than in Malaysia. However, GDP per capita does not tell the full story of the living
standards within the country.
The GDP per capita of Malaysia is 7300 USD, which places Malaysia on the
world ranking of 61. The countries will not be able to retain their rankings such as
those of the GDP alone as the population of the countries vary from one country to
another.

From the level of GDP per capita, we can see in Malaysia has a cost of living
in Malaysia which is considerably high but not as high as compared to Italy. This also
leads to better standards of living in which we experience here in Malaysia. Again
the GDP per capita does not tell the full story of cost of living and living standards.

GDP per capita by PPP

Ranking
30
45

Country
Italy
Malaysia

GDP per capita

33000
23500

As compared to the GDP, the GDP per capita by PPP has increased to 33000.
However, this has caused its world ranking to drop to rank 30. PPP takes into
account the currency exchange rate and purchasing power of that particular
country, in this case Italy.
From this figure and the rank change, we can say that Italy has a high cost of
living as compared to other countries, as the change in ranking might be due to
higher purchasing power in other countries.
As of 2014, Malaysias GDP per capita by PPP was 23500. This is a significant
increase when purchasing power is taken into consideration. In fact, the GDP per
capita by PPP of Italy and Malaysia are very close as seen in the table above.
From the table above, we can say that Malaysia has a lower cost of living as
compared to other countries. This can be seen from the increase in world ranking.
This also means that Malaysians have higher purchasing power than what the GDP
per capita suggests.

Human Development Index

Ranking
27
62

Country
Italy
Malaysia

HDI
0.873
0.779

From the table we can see that Italy has a HDI of 0.873. This puts it in the
very high category in terms of HDI. As compared to Italy, Malaysias HDI has a value
of 0.779. This puts it in the category of high HDI. HDI is used in measuring three
basic dimensions of human development which are healthy lifetime, knowledge,
and standards of living.
As of 2010, the HDI in Italy only grew 0.004, which ends with the figure 0.873.
this might mean that Italy is already reaching its peak in the HDI. The level of HDI
achieved by Italy means that Italy has high standards of living. With a life
expectancy of 83 and 16 expected schooling years, the HDI of Italy deserves to be
in the very high category.

As compared to Italy, Malaysia has an increase of 0.013 in its HDI. Even

though the figure is small, Malaysias HDI has been steadily increasing about 0.002
0.003 annually. In Malaysia, the life expectancy is estimated to be 74 and
expected schooling years is 13.
Economy Sector Contribution
Italy
Sector
Agriculture
Industry
Services

Contribution
2.2%
23.6%
74.2%

From the table, we can see that Italy relies heavily on its services sector. With
a contribution of up to 74.2% to its GDP. It is then followed by 2.2% and 23.6% of
the agriculture and industry sector respectively.
As in most Western European countries, agriculture is in a continuous decline
in Italy. Most of its agriculture activities take place in its southern region. Where we
can see the cultivation of wheat, tobacco, olives and others. While the northern
region has a strong tradition of cattle breeding. As for he cultivation of wine, it is
widely spread throughout the country.
Its largest commodity for export are the wine produced in Italy. Italys biggest
export partners are Germany, France, United States, and other countries in the
European region. But take note that these are just their largest export partners not
their only ones.
Malaysia
Sector
Agriculture
Industry
Services

Contribution
9%
35%
56%

From the table, we can see that Malaysia also relies on its services sector to
generate revenue for the country. However, it is not as dependent on its service
sector as Italy. Malaysias services sector has a contributes the majority to its
revenue with 56% of contribution from this particular sector. Followed by Industry
and Agriculture with 35% and 9% respectively.
Malaysia has been moving away its agriculture sector as compared to the
1960s where agriculture accounted for 37% of Malaysias GDP. Not just the statistics
have changed, but the crops grown as well, from paddy to industrial crops such as
rubber and palm oil. Despite the its minor contribution to Malaysias GDP, it is the
worlds second largest producer of oil palm.

Malaysias industrial sectors contribution mostly come from its electronics

industry, automotive industry, and construction industry. A large portion of its
electrical and electronics industry contributes a large portion to the countrys total
exports. From the automotive industry, we can see Proton and Perodua which have
significantly contributed to Malaysias GDP. With Proton being the 22 nd largest
automotive producer.
In terms of the services sector, we can see that Malaysia generated 11 billion
USD in the yeawr of 2014, attracting almost 30 million tourists to Malaysia. Another
growing industry in Malaysia is its medical tourism, where an estimated 1 million
travel to Malaysia for medical treatments. Besides that, the finance and banking in
Malaysia is also doing well with Kuala Lumpur being ranked 22 nd on the global
Financial Centre Index.