Atlas Kedah
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DOSM open data · every number sourced

Head to head

Kedah vs Penang

Penang produces 2.9 times as much GDP per resident as Kedah. But Kedah has 9 times the land, more people, and a bigger farm economy. The question isn't how Kedah beats Penang at everything — it's where Kedah can win.

Score

Kedah
leads in12 measures
Pulau Pinang

Source: DOSM — Real GDP by State; Population Tables; Household Income Survey; Kawasanku.

1. Measure by measure

  1. Size of the economy (GDP), 2025Penang leads
    RM56.3 bnConstant 2015 prices.RM130.3 bn
  2. GDP per person, 2025Penang leads
    RM25,281The headline measure of prosperity.RM72,207
  3. GDP growth, 2015–2025Penang leads
    3.6% a yearAverage a year.5.2% a year
  4. Manufacturing GDP, 2025Penang leads
    RM16.9 bnPenang's biggest strength.RM61.7 bn
  5. Manufacturing growth, 2015–2025Penang leads
    4.0% a yearThis gap is widening.6.3% a year
  6. Services GDP, 2025Penang leads
    RM31.5 bnIncludes trade, finance and tourism.RM60.8 bn
  7. Farm GDP, 2025Kedah leads
    RM5.9 bnMalaysia's rice bowl, rubber and fruit.RM2.2 bn
  8. Construction growth, 2015–2025Kedah leads
    5.0% a yearAn early signal of new investment.4.7% a year
  9. Land areaKedah leads
    9,492 km²Room for new factories, farms and homes.1,046 km²
  10. Population, 2025Kedah leads
    2.23mA bigger pool of workers.1.80m
  11. Median household income, 2024Penang leads
    RM4,895A month.RM7,386
  12. Absolute poverty, 2024Penang leads
    8.4%Share of households; lower is better.1.9%

2. The manufacturing gap is widening

Manufacturing is Penang's main engine. Between 2015 and 2025, Penang's manufacturing GDP grew 6.3% a year, against 4.0% in Kedah. At this pace Kedah won't catch Penang in manufacturing — but it doesn't need to. Kedah needs to be where Penang's manufacturing grows next.

Manufacturing GDP Official

RM billion, constant 2015 prices, 2015–2025

  • Pulau Pinang
  • Kedah
Manufacturing GDP, Penang and Kedah0.020.040.060.080.020152020202561.716.9

Source: DOSM, Annual Real GDP by State and Economic Sector.

3. Penang is running out of room

Penang has 1,725 people per km², against 235 in Kedah — 7 times as dense. Night-time satellite imagery says the same: Penang's average light intensity is 13 times Kedah's. That density means land for new factories in Penang is scarcer. Kedah has land, water and workers right next door.

Population density, Penang
1,725
people per km²
Population density, Kedah
235
people per km²

Source: DOSM, Population Tables 2025; area and night lights from Kawasanku (2024).

4. Where could Kedah win next?

Four opportunities the data supports. Each comes with its evidence and what we don't yet know.

A. Be where Penang's factories expand

Manufacturing already makes up 68% of Kulim's GDP. Kulim Hi-Tech Park (KHTP) employs about 70,000 people, and the state expects 150,000 by 2035. With 9 times the land, Kedah can offer the space that is getting scarce in Penang.

Unknown: industrial land prices and availability, and labour costs compared with Penang.

B. Rubber: from plantation to finished product

Kedah has 47,855 rubber permit (PAT-G) holders working more than 59,000 hectares of smallholder rubber. Kedah Rubber City in Padang Terap targets 14,500 jobs over 15 years, and a RM2.6 billion tyre plant is due in 2027. Penang has no rubber base like this.

Unknown: whether the new factories will buy rubber from local smallholders.

C. Food for Penang and the world

Kedah's farm GDP is 2.6 times Penang's, and four Kedah districts are farming heartlands. Penang's market of 1.8 million people, plus its airport and port, is next door. But Kedah's farm GDP grows only 0.9% a year — adding value through food processing is the opportunity.

Unknown: how much Kedah produce is already processed in Penang rather than in Kedah.

D. Langkawi

Services are 80% of Langkawi's GDP, and its GDP per person of RM25,670 is above the Kedah average. Penang competes for the same visitors, but Langkawi has an edge Penang lacks: duty-free island status.

Unknown: visitor and tourist-spending data by district.

5. Partners, not only rivals

More than 80% of Penang's raw water comes from Kedah's Muda River, and KHTP in Kulim sits near the Penang border. Both states do best when Kedah is where Penang grows, and Penang is Kedah's door to world markets — like Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

The Shenzhen story → · Kulim profile → · Langkawi profile →

Sources