The Department of Statistics was established in 1949 under the provisions of the Statistics Ordinance 1949 and was then known as the Bureau of Statistics. The statistics produced at that time were limited to external trade and estate agriculture. In 1965, the name of Bureau of Statistics was changed to the Department of Statistics, Malaysia and operated under the provisions of the Statistics Act 1965 (Revised 1989).

At the same time, the statistical offices in Sabah and Sarawak became branches of the Department of Statistics headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. In Peninsular Malaysia, state offices were established in stages from 1971 to 1982. In the government organisational structure, the Department of Statistics, Malaysia is placed under the Prime Minister's Department.   More detail...