Economic Well-being and Youth Quality of Life: Insights from the Malaysian Youth Index
Keywords:
Malaysian Youth Index, Economic Well-being, Youth Quality of Life, Economic ResilienceAbstract
Economic well-being is determinant of youth’s quality of life amid escalating living costs, employment uncertainty and financial vulnerability. Drawing on Malaysian Youth Index 2024 (MYI’24), a quantitative approach using descriptive and comparative assessments evaluated the Economy domain. The Economy domain scored 70.70 in MYI’24, indicating a Moderate level of economic quality of life among youth. Although financial literacy was High at 77.27, Lower scores in financial security (59.41), debt-free status (57.83) and youth unemployment rate (6.10) show vulnerabilities. The findings provide actionable insights for decision-makers and stakeholders, supporting initiatives to promote sustainable improvements in youth’s quality of life and well-being.
References
Brüggen, E. C., Hogreve, J., Holmlund, M., Kabadayi, S., & Löfgren, M. (2017). Financial well-being: A conceptualization and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 79, 228–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.03.013
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (2017). CFPB financial well-being scale: Scale development technical report. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2024). Current population estimates, Malaysia, 2024. Department of Statistics Malaysia. https://www.dosm.gov.my
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2024). Labour force survey, Malaysia, 2024. Department of Statistics Malaysia. https://www.dosm.gov.my
Institute for Youth Research Malaysia. (2026). Facts & Figures Malaysian Youth Index. Putrajaya: IYRES.
Kempson, E., Finney, A., & Poppe, C. (2017). Financial well-being: A conceptual model and preliminary analysis. Consumption Research Norway (SIFO), Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences.
Ministry of Economy. (2021). Twelfth Malaysia Plan, 2021–2025. Government of Malaysia. https://rmke12.epu.gov.my
Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia. (2015). Malaysian Youth Policy 2015–2035. Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia.
Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia. (2024). Madani Youth Development Model 2030 (Model Pembangunan Belia MADANI 2030). Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2023). How's Life? 2024: Measuring well-being. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9870c393-en
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2024). OECD economic surveys: Malaysia 2024. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/0fdbccb7-en
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press.
World Health Organization. (2021). WHOQOL: Measuring quality of life. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/tools/whoqol
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 NUR SHAZWANIE BINTI ROSEHAN, SHAHHANIM YAHYA, ASNIDA ABD HAMID, ROZAHIDAH ROSLEE
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
