Population in the largest city in Malaysia
Malaysia: Population in the largest city was 32.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population in the largest city in Malaysia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 32.3% for population in the largest city in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 8.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population in the largest city in Malaysia peaked at 32.3% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 15.1%, in 1970.
That places Malaysia 68th out of 153 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Population in the largest city in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 16.6% | — |
| 1961 | 16.3% | -1.3% |
| 1962 | 16.1% | -1.2% |
| 1963 | 16.0% | -1.2% |
| 1964 | 15.8% | -1.1% |
| 1965 | 15.6% | -1.0% |
| 1966 | 15.5% | -0.9% |
| 1967 | 15.4% | -0.7% |
| 1968 | 15.3% | -0.6% |
| 1969 | 15.2% | -0.6% |
| 1970 | 15.1% | -0.7% |
| 1971 | 15.7% | +3.9% |
| 1972 | 16.3% | +4.2% |
| 1973 | 17.0% | +4.1% |
| 1974 | 17.7% | +4.0% |
| 1975 | 18.4% | +4.0% |
| 1976 | 19.1% | +3.9% |
| 1977 | 19.8% | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 20.5% | +3.6% |
| 1979 | 21.2% | +3.5% |
| 1980 | 21.9% | +3.0% |
| 1981 | 22.3% | +2.1% |
| 1982 | 22.6% | +1.4% |
| 1983 | 22.8% | +0.9% |
| 1984 | 23.0% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 23.1% | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 23.1% | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 23.2% | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 23.4% | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 23.6% | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 24.0% | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 24.5% | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 24.9% | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 25.3% | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 25.7% | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 26.2% | +1.8% |
| 1996 | 26.7% | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 27.2% | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 27.9% | +2.3% |
| 1999 | 28.6% | +2.5% |
| 2000 | 29.3% | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 29.1% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 28.9% | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 28.7% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 28.6% | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 28.5% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 28.4% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 28.3% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 28.4% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 28.5% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 28.6% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 28.8% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 29.1% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 29.3% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 29.6% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 29.9% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 30.2% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 30.5% | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 30.8% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 31.1% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 31.4% | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 31.7% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 31.9% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 32.1% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 32.2% | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 32.3% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 15.8% | 15.2% | 16.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 18.1% | 15.1% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 22.9% | 21.9% | 23.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 26.1% | 24.0% | 28.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 28.7% | 28.3% | 29.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.8% | 28.6% | 31.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.0% | 31.4% | 32.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More urban development data for Malaysia
- Population density 106.91 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 15.87 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per capita 0.2502 units per person (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 9.00 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, annual 2.09 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per unit 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per square 26.24 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Population in largest city 9.00 million (2025)
- Crude steelmaking capacity 19.2 Tonnes (2025)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 23 - Ecological 314.15 Hectares (2020)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population in the largest city in Malaysia?
- Population in the largest city in Malaysia was 32.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population in the largest city recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 32.3% in 2025.
- What is the lowest population in the largest city recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.1% in 1970.
- How does Malaysia rank for population in the largest city?
- Malaysia ranks 68th out of 153 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population in the largest city rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population in the largest city (% of urban population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.