Urban population growth in Malaysia
Malaysia: Urban population growth was 1.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Malaysia, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Malaysia stood at 1.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.4% on the previous year and down 24.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Malaysia peaked at 7.4% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2020.
That places Malaysia 79th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.7% | 3.4% | 4.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.8% | 3.4% | 4.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.6% | 4.7% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.1% | 4.3% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.7% | 3.0% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 2.0% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More climate change data for Malaysia
- Population growth 1.2% (2025)
- Population, total 35.98 million (2025)
- Urban population 27.84 million (2025)
- Urban population 77.4% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 25.0% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 6.71 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 1.2% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 13.3% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 8.4% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 4.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Malaysia?
- Urban population growth in Malaysia was 1.8% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.4% in 1986.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2020.
- How does Malaysia rank for urban population growth?
- Malaysia ranks 79th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.