Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 27.9% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Malaysia, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Malaysia stood at 27.9%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 15.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Malaysia peaked at 27.9% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.
That places Malaysia 42nd out of 180 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.0% | — |
| 1955 | 0.0% | — |
| 1960 | 0.0% | — |
| 1965 | 0.0% | — |
| 1970 | 0.0% | — |
| 1975 | 0.0% | — |
| 1980 | 0.0% | — |
| 1985 | 8.3% | — |
| 1990 | 12.1% | +45.3% |
| 1995 | 14.0% | +16.3% |
| 2000 | 18.0% | +28.4% |
| 2005 | 22.7% | +25.8% |
| 2010 | 24.1% | +6.3% |
| 2015 | 25.9% | +7.5% |
| 2020 | 27.9% | +7.7% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 27.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 19.8%, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 27.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 21.4%, 1.3× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 4.2% | 0.0% | 8.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 13.1% | 12.1% | 14.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 20.4% | 18.0% | 22.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 25.0% | 24.1% | 25.9% | 2 |
| 2020s | 27.9% | 27.9% | 27.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More reference data data for Malaysia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7102 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5869 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1487 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8098 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Malaysia?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Malaysia was 27.9% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 27.9% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Malaysia ranks 42nd out of 180 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of the total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.