Cuba vs Malaysia: Share of population living in urban areas
Cuba
82.1%
in 2020
Malaysia
82.3%
in 2020
Cuba rank
73rd
Malaysia rank
71st
Share of population living in urban areas over time
- Cuba
- Malaysia
How they compare
Malaysia currently reports 82.3% against 82.1% in Cuba, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Cuba ahead.
Cuba ranks 73rd and Malaysia ranks 71st of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Cuba averaged higher in 7 and Malaysia in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Cuba | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 81.6% | 58.7% | 22.9% | Cuba |
| 1960s | 84.1% | 62.6% | 21.5% | Cuba |
| 1970s | 86.1% | 66.2% | 19.9% | Cuba |
| 1980s | 84.7% | 69.0% | 15.7% | Cuba |
| 1990s | 83.4% | 73.2% | 10.2% | Cuba |
| 2000s | 83.7% | 77.8% | 5.9% | Cuba |
| 2010s | 83.4% | 80.8% | 2.5% | Cuba |
| 2020s | 82.1% | 82.3% | 0.2% | Malaysia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban areas, Cuba or Malaysia?
- Malaysia, at 82.3% against 82.1% in Cuba as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas between Cuba and Malaysia?
- 0.2%, with Malaysia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Cuba and Malaysia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Cuba and Malaysia rank globally for share of population living in urban areas?
- Cuba ranks 73rd 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.