Australia vs Malaysia: Share of population living in urban areas
Australia
82.2%
in 2020
Malaysia
82.3%
in 2020
Australia rank
72nd
Malaysia rank
71st
Share of population living in urban areas over time
- Australia
- Malaysia
How they compare
Malaysia currently reports 82.3% against 82.2% in Australia, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 72nd and Malaysia ranks 71st of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 6 and Malaysia in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 67.0% | 58.7% | 8.3% | Australia |
| 1960s | 71.0% | 62.6% | 8.4% | Australia |
| 1970s | 74.3% | 66.2% | 8.1% | Australia |
| 1980s | 76.3% | 69.0% | 7.3% | Australia |
| 1990s | 78.0% | 73.2% | 4.8% | Australia |
| 2000s | 78.7% | 77.8% | 0.9% | Australia |
| 2010s | 80.8% | 80.8% | 0.1% | Malaysia |
| 2020s | 82.2% | 82.3% | 0.1% | Malaysia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban areas, Australia or Malaysia?
- Malaysia, at 82.3% against 82.2% in Australia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas between Australia and Malaysia?
- 0.1%, with Malaysia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Malaysia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Australia and Malaysia rank globally for share of population living in urban areas?
- Australia ranks 72nd and Malaysia ranks 71st of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urban areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.