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SabahKu

Pitas

Typology: Rural economy with mining & quarrying · Structural peers: Machang (Kelantan), Tanah Merah (Kelantan), Bachok (Kelantan) · Latest survey 2024 · district GDP 2020

WELFAREIncome: 0th percentile in Sabah (2024)IncomePoverty: 0th percentile in Sabah (2024)PovertyGini: 20th percentile in Sabah (2024)GiniGDP/cap: 19th percentile in Sabah (2020)GDP/capSTRUCTUREServices: 27th percentile in Sabah (2020) · descriptiveServicesAgri: 77th percentile in Sabah (2020) · descriptiveAgriMfg: 50th percentile in Sabah (2020) · descriptiveMfgDensity: 38th percentile in Sabah (2025) · descriptiveDensityMOMENTUMInc. growth: 88th percentile in Sabah (2024)Inc.growthGDP growth: 27th percentile in Sabah (2020)GDPgrowthLFPR: 8th percentile in Sabah (2024)LFPRJobless: 12th percentile in Sabah (2024)JoblessACCESSWater: 8th percentile in Sabah (2024)WaterPower: 4th percentile in Sabah (2024)PowerLIGHTSRadiance: 15th percentile in Sabah (2025) · descriptiveRadianceLit area: 23th percentile in Sabah (2025) · descriptiveLit areaLights growth: 4th percentile in Sabah (2025)Lightsgrowth
worse ← percentile in Sabah → betterstructure: lower → higher (not good/bad) boundary change
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Median household income

RM 2,785

▼ worse than peers (RM 3,701)

28th of 28 in Sabah

DOSM · hh_income_district · 2024

Absolute poverty rate

50.0%

▼ worse than peers (13.3%)

28th of 28 in Sabah

DOSM · hh_poverty_district · 2024

GDP per capita

RM 7,827

▼ worse than peers (RM 12,279)

22nd of 27 in Sabah

Derived · 2020

Unemployment rate

9.6%

▼ worse than peers (4.9%)

24th of 27 in Sabah

DOSM · lfs_district · 2024

Diagnose

What's working, what's holding it back

Rule-based, not a black box: a strength is above its structural peers and not worsening; a concern is below peers and not improving. Thresholds are published.

What's working

  • +Income growth of 6.9% (2024) is 4.0 pp/yr above its structural peers (2.8%).Strength

    Derived · 2024

What's holding it back

  • −GDP / capita of RM 7,827 (2020) is 36% below its structural peers (RM 12,279).Concern

    Derived · 2020

  • −Piped water of 60.9% (2024) is 19.4 pp below its structural peers (80.2%), worsening since 2022.Concern

    DOSM · hh_access_amenities · 2024

  • −Electricity of 87.0% (2024) is 13.0 pp below its structural peers (100.0%), worsening since 2022.Concern

    DOSM · hh_access_amenities · 2024

  • −Unemployment of 9.6% (2024) is 4.7 pp above its structural peers (4.9%), broadly unchanged 2023–2024.Concern

    DOSM · lfs_district · 2024

  • −GDP growth of −0.6% (2020) is 3.0 pp/yr below its structural peers (2.5%).Concern

    Derived · 2020

  • −Sanitation of 98.9% (2024) is 1.1 pp below its structural peers (100.0%), worsening since 2022.Concern

    DOSM · hh_access_amenities · 2024

  • −Gini of 0.411 (2024) is 0.062 above its structural peers (0.349), worsening since 2022.Concern

    DOSM · hh_inequality_district · 2024

Mixed signals

  • Poverty of 50.0% (2024) is 36.7 pp above its structural peers (13.3%), improving since 2022.

    DOSM · hh_poverty_district · 2024

  • Median income of RM 2,785 (2024) is 25% below its structural peers (RM 3,701), growing 6.0 pp/yr faster than Sabah (2022–2024).

    DOSM · hh_income_district · 2024

  • Participation of 53.5% (2024) is 2.3 pp below its structural peers (55.8%), improving since 2023.

    DOSM · lfs_district · 2024

Project

Where the economy is heading

DOSM last published district GDP for 2020. Values after that are nowcasts built from Sabah's published sector growth, then projections to 2028. Shaded bands are 80% intervals calibrated on backtests; see the model card.
Real GDP, RM million (2015 prices)
3003504004502016201820202022202420262028OFFICIALNOWCASTPROJECTION337
Official: DOSM gdp_district_real_supply (to 2020). Nowcast & projection: model forecast-2026.09.26-74e1d087. Backtest error at 3 years: 4.8% for this district.
Median household income, RM / month (nominal)
RM 2,000RM 2,500RM 3,000RM 3,500201920222024202520262027OFFICIALPROJECTIONRM 2,996
Official: DOSM hh_income_district (2019, 2022, 2024). Projection follows Sabah's long-run trend.

Diagnose · why

Luck of the sector mix, or its own merit?

Shift-share splits GDP growth into what Sabah (or Malaysia) grew anyway, what the district's sector mix added, and a competitive effect: how its sectors did against the same sectors elsewhere, the most honest answer to “is it doing well on its own merits?”
Why did Pitas's GDP change, 2015–2019?
All sectorsBenchmark growth: 41.1 RM milIndustry mix: -17.8 RM milCompetitive (own merit): -23.4 RM mil−8.0% ownMining & quarryingBenchmark growth: 1.6 RM milIndustry mix: 7.3 RM milCompetitive (own merit): -3.2 RM mil−3ServicesBenchmark growth: 14.9 RM milIndustry mix: 10.6 RM milCompetitive (own merit): -8.7 RM mil−9AgricultureBenchmark growth: 22.3 RM milIndustry mix: -34.0 RM milCompetitive (own merit): -9.3 RM mil−9ConstructionBenchmark growth: 0.0 RM milIndustry mix: 0.0 RM milCompetitive (own merit): 0.0 RM mil±0ManufacturingBenchmark growth: 2.3 RM milIndustry mix: -1.7 RM milCompetitive (own merit): -2.2 RM mil−2
RM million, 2015 prices. Benchmark: Sabah (+14.1% over the window). The three effects add up exactly to the actual change. Source: DOSM gdp_district_real_supply; offshore oil & gas (Supra) excluded.
Benchmark growthIndustry mixCompetitive (own merit)

DOSM suppresses sector values below RM5 mil (construction 2015, construction 2016, construction 2017…); treated as zero.

Diagnose · associated factors

Above or below what its structure predicts?

A model trained on all Malaysian districts estimates what a district with this structure would typically record. The gap and the factors behind the estimate are associations, not causes.

Median household income, 2024

Actual RM 2,785 vs expected RM 3,060: within model error

Labour force participation-12.3%GDP per capita (2020)-9.0%Unemployment rate-8.1%Agriculture share of GDP-7.0%Piped-water access-5.8%Population density-4.7%
How each factor moves the model's expectation relative to an average district (ridge regression, exact linear contributions). Associations, not causes. Cross-validated error ±RM 649.

Absolute poverty rate, 2024

Actual 50.0% vs expected 34.8%: worse than structure predicts

Unemployment rate+11.7 ppGDP per capita (2020)+8.9 ppPiped-water access+5.7 ppServices share of GDP+3.5 ppLabour force participation+2.9 ppElectricity access+2.0 pp
How each factor moves the model's expectation relative to an average district (LightGBM, SHAP values). Associations, not causes. Cross-validated error ±4.1%.

Compare

Structural peers

The five districts nationally most similar in economic structure (income level, GDP per capita, sector mix, density, age, labour participation, water access), whatever their state.
  1. 1MachangKelantanRural economy with mining & quarrying
  2. 2Tanah MerahKelantanRural economy with mining & quarrying
  3. 3BachokKelantanRemote interior, low service access
  4. 4Kota BeludSabahRural economy with mining & quarrying
  5. 5Hulu PerakPerakRural economy with mining & quarrying

Pitas improved at least as fast as its ten nearest structural neighbours since 2019.

Lights

Pitas after dark

NASA's Black Marble satellite pictures of the district at night, 2012 against 2025: +1% over 13 years. Lights track where people, roads and industry are; they are a proxy, not a measure of output. Play every year on the map.
201231 · 23rd of 27
202532 · 26th of 27

Data

Every indicator, with its source

IndicatorLatestYearTrendSabah rankSource
Mean household consumption expenditureRM / monthRM 3,472202412/28 (desc.)hies_district
Gini coefficient of household incomeindex (0–1)0.411202422/28hh_inequality_district
Mean household incomeRM / monthRM 4,121202427/28hh_income_district
Median household incomeRM / monthRM 2,785202428/28hh_income_district
Absolute poverty rate% of households50.0%202428/28hh_poverty_district
Relative poverty rate% of households44.6%202428/28hh_poverty_district
Employment-to-population ratio% of working-age48.4%202425/27lfs_district
Labour forcethousand persons13.8202425/27 (desc.)lfs_district
Labour force participation rate% of working-age53.5%202425/27lfs_district
Unemployment rate% of labour force9.6%202424/27lfs_district
Households with electricity% of households87.0%202425/26hh_access_amenities
Households with piped water% of households60.9%202425/27hh_access_amenities
Households with improved sanitation% of households98.9%202422/27hh_access_amenities
GDP per capitaRM / person / yearRM 7,8272020single year22/27Derived
GDP at constant 2015 pricesRM million287.2202023/27 (desc.)gdp_district_real_supply
Agriculture share of GDP% of GDP46.7%20207/27 (desc.)Derived
Construction share of GDP% of GDP0.0%202021/27 (desc.)Derived⚑ DOSM suppresses values below RM5 mil, shown as 0
Manufacturing share of GDP% of GDP4.4%202014/27 (desc.)Derived
Mining & quarrying share of GDP% of GDP5.3%20201/27 (desc.)Derived
Services share of GDP% of GDP42.8%202020/27 (desc.)Derived
Population densitypersons / km²26202517/27 (desc.)Derived
Populationthousand persons39.0202523/27 (desc.)population_district
Population aged 65 and over% of population6.4%202512/27 (desc.)population_district
Non-citizen share of population% of population5.6%202523/27 (desc.)population_district
Real GDP growth, 2015–2020 average% / year−0.6%2020single year20/27Derived⚑ Growth window 2015–2020
Median income growth since 2019% / year6.9%2024single year4/27Derived⚑ Growth window 2019–2024
Night-light growth, 2015 to latest year% / year−2.7%2025single year26/27Derived⚑ Growth window 2015–2025
Population growth, 2020–latest% / year1.2%2025single year15/27 (desc.)Derived⚑ Growth window 2020–2025
Share of land that is lit at night% of land area2.5%202521/27 (desc.)VNP46A4.002
Average night-time light radiancenW·cm⁻²·sr⁻¹0.02202523/27 (desc.)VNP46A4.002
Total night-time light (gap-filled)radiance × km² (index)32202526/27 (desc.)VNP46A4.002

Advise

AI Analyst brief

AI-generated · unreviewed draft

Situation

Pitas is classified as a rural economy with mining & quarrying and had median household income RM 2,785 in 2024 .

Absolute poverty remains high but has improved from 53.6% in 2019 to 50.0% in 2024 .

Real GDP is only published to 2020 (RM 287 million at 2015 prices) and model nowcasts project gradual recovery through 2027 with a central estimate of RM 329 million (80% interval RM 302–407 million) in 2027 .

Modelled median income is projected to rise slowly from RM 2,785 in 2024 to RM 2,996 in 2027 (80% interval RM 2,594–RM 3,475 for 2027) .

Read the full brief with sources · Ask a follow-up