Malaysia
MaintainingAsia-PacificUpper-middle income
Power #23 / 50Per-capita #31
Cognitive Power
34.9
of 100 · #23
CPI
34.9
CC
45.7
ADI
52.5
CDI
0.425
AIR
40.0
AIX
32.2
CRI
35.6
CM
38.0
CV
3.3%
Primary · absolute lens
Cognitive Power
34.9 · #23/50
Total national capacity — AI capital, compute, models & robotics. Strongest in researchers (total), agentic deployment (scale), semiconductor capability.
Per-capita lens
Cognitive Coefficient
45.7 · #31/50
How deep infrastructure runs per person — rewards intensity, like GDP-per-capita or the HDI.
Agentic Deployment Index — the army of agents
Malaysia's agentic capacity
52.5
ADI · #31/50
How many capable, autonomous agents this society can field, how intelligent they are, and what they are permitted to do — across citizens, business and government. An automated army of agentic problem-solvers may be the single clearest near-term lever of cognitive advantage.
Agent capability (intelligence)62.0
Access — citizens50.0
Autonomy & reach (what agents can do)56.0
Business deployment40.0
Government deployment50.0
CC projection to 2040 — Baseline
All 8 scenarios →Monte-Carlo band (P10–P90) around the median path. Dashed = illustrative historical reconstruction.
Median (P50)P10–P90 bandReconstruction
Pillar profile
Country report · generated from Malaysia's indices & economy
Malaysia — cognitive standing in full
Malaysia is the world's #35 economy by GDP ($472bn) and ranks #23/50 on absolute Cognitive Power and #31/50 on per-capita intensity. No index ranks as a clear strength across the headline indices; its trajectory is Maintaining — holding position but not compounding an advantage. The binding concern is cognitive resilience index.
Economic & scale context
The economic base AI capacity is built on — and how its scale interacts with the cognitive indices.
GDP (total)
$472bn
#35 of 50
GDP / capita
$41,498
Upper-middle income · PPP
Population
36M
AI investment
$0.6bn
#33 globally
R&D intensity
0.95%
of GDP
Index-by-index read
For each index: what it means when high (the value) versus low (the risk), and Malaysia's own standing.
| Index | Value | Standing | What a high vs low value means — and where Malaysia sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPI Cognitive Power Index | 34.9 | Moderate · #23/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean great-power scale: the country can shape the frontier, attract capital and talent, and set standards others follow; low would mean limited absolute weight: a price-taker that depends on capacity built elsewhere. ▲ high: great-power scale: the country can shape the frontier, attract capital and talent, and set standards others follow · ▼ low: limited absolute weight: a price-taker that depends on capacity built elsewhere |
| CC Cognitive Coefficient | 45.7 | Moderate · #31/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean deep capability per person: broad productivity gains and a well-equipped workforce; low would mean thin per-person depth: gains stay concentrated and most of the workforce is under-equipped. ▲ high: deep capability per person: broad productivity gains and a well-equipped workforce · ▼ low: thin per-person depth: gains stay concentrated and most of the workforce is under-equipped |
| ADI Agentic Deployment Index | 52.5 | Moderate · #31/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean an automated-agent workforce multiplier is already in place across society; low would mean agents are under-deployed — the clearest near-term productivity lever is being left on the table. ▲ high: an automated-agent workforce multiplier is already in place across society · ▼ low: agents are under-deployed — the clearest near-term productivity lever is being left on the table |
| CDI Cognitive Development Index | 0.425 | Developing · #34/50 | Low here — imbalance or underdevelopment — at least one dimension is a binding weakness. ▲ high: broad, balanced development with no single dimension dragging it down · ▼ low: imbalance or underdevelopment — at least one dimension is a binding weakness |
| AIR AI Readiness | 40.0 | Developing · #34/50 | Low here — governance, data or infrastructure gaps will slow how fast AI can actually be used. ▲ high: institutions and infrastructure are ready to convert capability into real deployment · ▼ low: governance, data or infrastructure gaps will slow how fast AI can actually be used |
| AIX Augmentation Index | 32.2 | Developing · #34/50 | Low here — access without adoption — the tools exist but are under-used, so the value is unrealised. ▲ high: AI is actively in use across the workforce, so capability is being turned into value · ▼ low: access without adoption — the tools exist but are under-used, so the value is unrealised |
| CRI Cognitive Resilience Index | 35.6 | Developing · #35/50 | Low here — dependency risk: heavy reliance on frontier infrastructure others control — a strategic vulnerability. ▲ high: strategic autonomy: a broad home-grown base that is hard to cut off or coerce · ▼ low: dependency risk: heavy reliance on frontier infrastructure others control — a strategic vulnerability |
| CM Cognitive Momentum | 38.0 | Moderate · #29/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean investment and pipeline favour sustained improvement — today's position is likely to compound; low would mean a weak pipeline — the current position may stall or erode without new investment. ▲ high: investment and pipeline favour sustained improvement — today's position is likely to compound · ▼ low: a weak pipeline — the current position may stall or erode without new investment |
| CV Cognitive Velocity | 3.3% | Moderate · #24/50 | Mid-pack. High would mean improving quickly relative to a moving frontier; low would mean slow improvement — at risk of drifting backwards in relative terms as the frontier advances. ▲ high: improving quickly relative to a moving frontier · ▼ low: slow improvement — at risk of drifting backwards in relative terms as the frontier advances |
Trajectory & growth potential
Trajectory & growth potential
MaintainingMalaysia's trajectory is Maintaining — holding position but not compounding an advantage. Risk: the frontier keeps moving, so standing still means slow relative decline. A stable base, but it needs fresh momentum to avoid drifting back.
Momentum (CM): 38.0 #29/50
Velocity (CV): 3.3% #24/50
Closing the gap: -1.95 pts/yr vs the frontier
Projected CC by 2040: 62.9 (now 45.7, P50 · scenario not forecast)
Strengths to build on
- No standout strengths across the headline indices yet.
Risk factors
- Dependency / low resilience — CRI 35.6 (#35/50): dependency risk: heavy reliance on frontier infrastructure others control — a strategic vulnerability.
- Relative trajectory — Maintaining: Risk: the frontier keeps moving, so standing still means slow relative decline. A stable base, but it needs fresh momentum to avoid drifting back.
- Affluent but under-utilizing — an upper-middle-income economy (GDP/cap $41,498 PPP) whose AI utilization (AIX 32.2) lags its means.
- Binding weakness — Cognitive Resilience Index 35.6 (#35/50, Developing): dependency risk: heavy reliance on frontier infrastructure others control — a strategic vulnerability.
Recommended priorities
- Prioritise the weakest pillar (AI Adoption) to lift the geometric-mean development index (CDI).
- Convert access into utilization: workforce AI-skilling and agentic-workflow adoption.
- Broaden the base (education + data governance) to raise resilience and reduce concentration risk.
▲
These are model outputs and scenarios, not forecasts of actual outcomes. This platform measures access to, utilization of, and leverage from cognitive infrastructure — not intelligence. No causality or certainty is claimed.