Rural population in Malaysia
Malaysia: Rural population was 8.13 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Malaysia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 8.13 million for rural population in 2025.
The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Malaysia peaked at 9.11 million in 1988 and was at its lowest, 5.88 million, in 1960.
Malaysia ranks 67th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.47 million | 5.88 million | 7.05 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 7.80 million | 7.18 million | 8.39 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.95 million | 8.54 million | 9.11 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.96 million | 8.78 million | 9.09 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.55 million | 8.37 million | 8.73 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.33 million | 8.29 million | 8.41 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.30 million | 8.13 million | 8.46 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More agriculture & rural data for Malaysia
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2025)
- Rural population 22.6% (2025)
- Rural population growth -0.9% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 8.2% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 38.79 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 615,072 hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 3,524 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 2.17 million metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 2,926 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Malaysia?
- Rural population in Malaysia was 8.13 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 9.11 million in 1988.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.88 million in 1960.
- How does Malaysia rank for rural population?
- Malaysia ranks 67th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.