Malaysia vs Saudi Arabia: Urban area over the long-term

Malaysia
6,818 km² per grid cell
in 2025
Saudi Arabia
6,551 km² per grid cell
in 2025
Malaysia rank
22nd
Saudi Arabia rank
24th

Urban area over the long-term over time

  • Malaysia
  • Saudi Arabia
02.0k4.0k6.0k100015122025

How they compare

Malaysia currently reports 6,818 km² per grid cell against 6,551 km² per grid cell in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 267 km² per grid cell.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Saudi Arabia ahead.

Malaysia ranks 22nd and Saudi Arabia ranks 24th of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Malaysia averaged higher in 15 and Saudi Arabia in 25.

Head to head by decade

Decade Malaysia Saudi Arabia Difference Ahead
1000s 0.0015 km² per grid cell 0.0117 km² per grid cell 0.0102 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1100s 0.0054 km² per grid cell 0.0365 km² per grid cell 0.0311 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1200s 0.0189 km² per grid cell 0.1134 km² per grid cell 0.0946 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1300s 0.0646 km² per grid cell 0.3519 km² per grid cell 0.2873 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1400s 0.2176 km² per grid cell 0.9274 km² per grid cell 0.7097 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1500s 0.7246 km² per grid cell 2.85 km² per grid cell 2.13 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1600s 2.72 km² per grid cell 9.63 km² per grid cell 6.91 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1700s 9.78 km² per grid cell 25.68 km² per grid cell 15.9 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1710s 11.4 km² per grid cell 29.04 km² per grid cell 17.64 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1720s 12.91 km² per grid cell 31.93 km² per grid cell 19.02 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1730s 14.6 km² per grid cell 35.1 km² per grid cell 20.51 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1740s 16.49 km² per grid cell 38.59 km² per grid cell 22.1 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1750s 18.61 km² per grid cell 42.42 km² per grid cell 23.81 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1760s 20.98 km² per grid cell 46.64 km² per grid cell 25.65 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1770s 23.64 km² per grid cell 51.27 km² per grid cell 27.62 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1780s 26.62 km² per grid cell 56.36 km² per grid cell 29.74 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1790s 29.94 km² per grid cell 61.95 km² per grid cell 32.01 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1800s 33.66 km² per grid cell 68.1 km² per grid cell 34.44 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1810s 38.71 km² per grid cell 74.86 km² per grid cell 36.15 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1820s 44.41 km² per grid cell 82.29 km² per grid cell 37.87 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1830s 50.86 km² per grid cell 92.94 km² per grid cell 42.09 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1840s 58.12 km² per grid cell 103.87 km² per grid cell 45.75 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1850s 66.31 km² per grid cell 116.09 km² per grid cell 49.78 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1860s 94.41 km² per grid cell 129.74 km² per grid cell 35.33 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1870s 127.26 km² per grid cell 145 km² per grid cell 17.73 km² per grid cell Saudi Arabia
1880s 165.52 km² per grid cell 163.82 km² per grid cell 1.7 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1890s 209.91 km² per grid cell 185.61 km² per grid cell 24.3 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1900s 256.52 km² per grid cell 210.29 km² per grid cell 46.23 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1910s 328.44 km² per grid cell 238.26 km² per grid cell 90.18 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1920s 447.53 km² per grid cell 261.52 km² per grid cell 186.01 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1930s 582.19 km² per grid cell 300.9 km² per grid cell 281.29 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1940s 821.81 km² per grid cell 340.59 km² per grid cell 481.22 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1950s 1,145 km² per grid cell 421.28 km² per grid cell 724.2 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1960s 1,626 km² per grid cell 577.31 km² per grid cell 1,048 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1970s 2,001 km² per grid cell 886.45 km² per grid cell 1,115 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1980s 2,341 km² per grid cell 1,617 km² per grid cell 724.03 km² per grid cell Malaysia
1990s 2,971 km² per grid cell 2,574 km² per grid cell 396.17 km² per grid cell Malaysia
2000s 4,137 km² per grid cell 3,737 km² per grid cell 400.02 km² per grid cell Malaysia
2010s 5,471 km² per grid cell 5,036 km² per grid cell 434.61 km² per grid cell Malaysia
2020s 6,478 km² per grid cell 6,215 km² per grid cell 263.38 km² per grid cell Malaysia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Malaysia or Saudi Arabia?
Malaysia, at 6,818 km² per grid cell against 6,551 km² per grid cell in Saudi Arabia as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia?
267 km² per grid cell, with Malaysia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Malaysia and Saudi Arabia?
108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Malaysia and Saudi Arabia rank globally for urban area over the long-term?
Malaysia ranks 22nd and Saudi Arabia ranks 24th of 202 countries.
Where does this data come from?
HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Urban area over the long-term. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Malaysia vs Saudi Arabia: Urban area over the long-term. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/urban-area-long-term/malaysia/saudi-arabia/

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<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/urban-area-long-term/malaysia/saudi-arabia/">Malaysia vs Saudi Arabia: Urban area over the long-term</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Urban area over the long-term
Unit
km² per grid cell
Source
HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
202 places, 21,816 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed

Total built-up area of a country over time.