Skip to content
SabahKu

Telupid

Typology: Plantation & agrarian frontier · Structural peers: Pekan (Pahang), Bagan Datuk (Perak), Rompin (Pahang) · Latest survey 2024 · district GDP 2020

WELFAREIncome: 56th percentile in Sabah (2024)IncomePoverty: 52th percentile in Sabah (2024)PovertyGini: 100th percentile in Sabah (2024)GiniGDP/cap: 92th percentile in Sabah (2020)GDP/capSTRUCTUREServices: 8th percentile in Sabah (2020) · descriptiveServicesAgri: 50th percentile in Sabah (2020) · descriptiveAgriMfg: 100th percentile in Sabah (2020) · descriptiveMfgDensity: 12th percentile in Sabah (2025) · descriptiveDensityMOMENTUMInc. growth: 100th percentile in Sabah (2024)Inc.growthGDP growth: 69th percentile in Sabah (2020)GDPgrowthLFPR: 4th percentile in Sabah (2024)LFPRJobless: 25th percentile in Sabah (2024)JoblessACCESSWater: 42th percentile in Sabah (2024)WaterPower: 64th percentile in Sabah (2024)PowerLIGHTSRadiance: 19th percentile in Sabah (2025) · descriptiveRadianceLit area: 15th percentile in Sabah (2025) · descriptiveLit areaLights growth: 73th percentile in Sabah (2025)Lightsgrowth
worse ← percentile in Sabah → betterstructure: lower → higher (not good/bad) boundary change
Download CSVCompare with peers

Median household income

RM 4,489

≈ in line with peers (RM 4,436)

13th of 28 in Sabah

DOSM · hh_income_district · 2024

Absolute poverty rate

22.0%

▼ worse than peers (10.9%)

14th of 28 in Sabah

DOSM · hh_poverty_district · 2024

GDP per capita

RM 20,739

▼ worse than peers (RM 34,208)

3rd of 27 in Sabah

Derived · 2020

Unemployment rate

9.3%

▼ worse than peers (2.0%)

20th 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 10.2% (2024) is 6.2 pp/yr above its structural peers (4.0%).Strength

    Derived · 2024

  • +Gini of 0.267 (2024) is 0.012 below its structural peers (0.279), improving since 2022.Strength

    DOSM · hh_inequality_district · 2024

What's holding it back

  • −GDP / capita of RM 20,739 (2020) is 39% below its structural peers (RM 34,208).Concern

    Derived · 2020

  • −Piped water of 80.5% (2024) is 19.5 pp below its structural peers (100.0%), broadly unchanged 2022–2024.Concern

    DOSM · hh_access_amenities · 2024

  • −Poverty of 22.0% (2024) is 11.1 pp above its structural peers (10.9%), worsening since 2022.Concern

    DOSM · hh_poverty_district · 2024

  • −Unemployment of 9.3% (2024) is 7.3 pp above its structural peers (2.0%), broadly unchanged 2023–2024.Concern

    DOSM · lfs_district · 2024

Mixed signals

  • Participation of 53.4% (2024) is 11.6 pp below its structural peers (65.0%), 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)
5006007008009002016201820202022202420262028OFFICIALNOWCASTPROJECTION730
Official: DOSM gdp_district_real_supply (to 2020). Nowcast & projection: model forecast-2026.09.26-74e1d087. Backtest error at 3 years: 1.3% for this district.
Median household income, RM / month (nominal)
RM 2,500RM 3,000RM 3,500RM 4,000RM 4,500RM 5,000RM 5,500RM 6,000201920222024202520262027OFFICIALPROJECTIONRM 4,829
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 Telupid's GDP change, 2015–2019?
All sectorsBenchmark growth: 78.4 RM milIndustry mix: -53.3 RM milCompetitive (own merit): 36.2 RM mil+6.5% ownMining & quarryingBenchmark growth: 0.0 RM milIndustry mix: 0.0 RM milCompetitive (own merit): 0.0 RM mil±0ServicesBenchmark growth: 15.2 RM milIndustry mix: 10.9 RM milCompetitive (own merit): 3.6 RM mil+4AgricultureBenchmark growth: 20.8 RM milIndustry mix: -31.7 RM milCompetitive (own merit): 32.1 RM mil+32ConstructionBenchmark growth: 0.0 RM milIndustry mix: 0.0 RM milCompetitive (own merit): 0.0 RM mil±0ManufacturingBenchmark growth: 42.4 RM milIndustry mix: -32.5 RM milCompetitive (own merit): 0.4 RM mil+0
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 4,489 vs expected RM 3,741: better than structure predicts

Labour force participation-12.4%Unemployment rate-7.7%Population density-6.6%Share aged 65++5.1%Manufacturing share of GDP-2.3%Piped-water access-1.7%
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 22.0% vs expected 28.7%: better than structure predicts

Unemployment rate+6.8 ppPiped-water access+3.7 ppGDP per capita (2020)-2.7 ppLabour force participation+2.0 ppServices share of GDP+1.9 ppElectricity access-1.0 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. 1PekanPahangPlantation & agrarian frontier
  2. 2Bagan DatukPerakAgeing agricultural heartland
  3. 3RompinPahangPlantation & agrarian frontier
  4. 4BeluranSabahPlantation & agrarian frontier
  5. 5MaranPahangServices-led towns & suburbs

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

Lights

Telupid after dark

NASA's Black Marble satellite pictures of the district at night, 2012 against 2025: +103% 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.
201223 · 26th of 27
202547 · 24th of 27

Data

Every indicator, with its source

IndicatorLatestYearTrendSabah rankSource
Mean household consumption expenditureRM / monthRM 2,659202424/28 (desc.)hies_district
Gini coefficient of household incomeindex (0–1)0.26720241/28hh_inequality_district
Mean household incomeRM / monthRM 4,877202423/28hh_income_district
Median household incomeRM / monthRM 4,489202413/28hh_income_district
Absolute poverty rate% of households22.0%202414/28hh_poverty_district
Relative poverty rate% of households12.2%202410/28hh_poverty_district
Employment-to-population ratio% of working-age48.2%202426/27lfs_district
Labour forcethousand persons12.1202426/27 (desc.)lfs_district
Labour force participation rate% of working-age53.4%202426/27lfs_district
Unemployment rate% of labour force9.3%202420/27lfs_district
Households with electricity% of households100.0%20241/26hh_access_amenities
Households with piped water% of households80.5%202416/27hh_access_amenities
Households with improved sanitation% of households100.0%20241/27hh_access_amenities
GDP per capitaRM / person / yearRM 20,7392020single year3/27Derived
GDP at constant 2015 pricesRM million605.6202017/27 (desc.)gdp_district_real_supply
Agriculture share of GDP% of GDP28.9%202014/27 (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 GDP48.5%20201/27 (desc.)Derived
Mining & quarrying share of GDP% of GDP0.0%202013/27 (desc.)Derived
Services share of GDP% of GDP21.5%202025/27 (desc.)Derived
Population densitypersons / km²15202524/27 (desc.)Derived
Populationthousand persons30.6202526/27 (desc.)population_district
Population aged 65 and over% of population5.9%202519/27 (desc.)population_district
Non-citizen share of population% of population39.2%20257/27 (desc.)population_district
Real GDP growth, 2015–2020 average% / year1.4%2020single year9/27Derived⚑ Growth window 2015–2020
Median income growth since 2019% / year10.2%2024single year1/27Derived⚑ Growth window 2019–2024
Night-light growth, 2015 to latest year% / year5.4%2025single year8/27Derived⚑ Growth window 2015–2025
Population growth, 2020–latest% / year0.9%2025single year19/27 (desc.)Derived⚑ Growth window 2020–2025
Share of land that is lit at night% of land area2.0%202523/27 (desc.)VNP46A4.002
Average night-time light radiancenW·cm⁻²·sr⁻¹0.02202522/27 (desc.)VNP46A4.002
Total night-time light (gap-filled)radiance × km² (index)47202524/27 (desc.)VNP46A4.002

Advise

AI Analyst brief

AI-generated · unreviewed draft

Situation

Telupid is classified as "Plantation & agrarian frontier" in the atlas typology .

Telupid's median household income was RM 2,757 in 2019 and RM 4,489 in 2024 .

Official district real GDP is published to 2020 at RM 605.6 million while later years are modelled nowcasts and projections; the 2024 nowcast central estimate is RM 643 million with an 80% interval RM 608–RM 751 million .

Telupid records low measured income inequality (Gini 0.267) and a high absolute poverty rate of 22.0% in 2024 .

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