Rural population growth (annual %) in Malaysia
Malaysia: Rural population growth (annual %) was -0.9% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Rural population growth in Malaysia, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded -0.9% for rural population growth in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.2% on the previous year and down 4,369.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Malaysia peaked at 2.1% in 1963 and was at its lowest, -0.9%, in 2025.
Malaysia ranks 165th of 210 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Rural population growth (annual %) in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.1% | — |
| 1962 | 2.1% | +2.6% |
| 1963 | 2.1% | +1.4% |
| 1964 | 2.1% | -0.0% |
| 1965 | 2.1% | -1.6% |
| 1966 | 2.1% | -2.5% |
| 1967 | 1.9% | -5.9% |
| 1968 | 1.8% | -5.3% |
| 1969 | 1.8% | -1.1% |
| 1970 | 1.8% | +1.1% |
| 1971 | 1.9% | +3.0% |
| 1972 | 1.9% | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 1.8% | -2.3% |
| 1974 | 1.8% | -2.2% |
| 1975 | 1.7% | -3.1% |
| 1976 | 1.7% | -2.9% |
| 1977 | 1.6% | -3.4% |
| 1978 | 1.6% | -4.4% |
| 1979 | 1.5% | -5.0% |
| 1980 | 1.8% | +19.0% |
| 1981 | 1.9% | +5.3% |
| 1982 | 1.5% | -20.8% |
| 1983 | 1.1% | -22.4% |
| 1984 | 0.9% | -25.0% |
| 1985 | 0.6% | -28.2% |
| 1986 | 0.4% | -37.0% |
| 1987 | 0.2% | -54.7% |
| 1988 | 0.0% | -97.1% |
| 1989 | -0.1% | -2322.2% |
| 1990 | -0.1% | +17.1% |
| 1991 | -0.1% | -33.2% |
| 1992 | -0.2% | +79.3% |
| 1993 | -0.3% | +100.2% |
| 1994 | -0.4% | +25.2% |
| 1995 | -0.4% | +12.0% |
| 1996 | -0.5% | +9.3% |
| 1997 | -0.5% | +7.0% |
| 1998 | -0.5% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | -0.5% | +1.8% |
| 2000 | -0.5% | -10.5% |
| 2001 | -0.4% | -18.2% |
| 2002 | -0.4% | +9.3% |
| 2003 | -0.5% | +18.6% |
| 2004 | -0.6% | +10.6% |
| 2005 | -0.6% | +2.2% |
| 2006 | -0.5% | -4.5% |
| 2007 | -0.5% | -9.3% |
| 2008 | -0.4% | -13.7% |
| 2009 | -0.3% | -20.6% |
| 2010 | -0.2% | -34.8% |
| 2011 | -0.2% | -11.8% |
| 2012 | -0.2% | +10.8% |
| 2013 | -0.2% | -24.7% |
| 2014 | -0.1% | -45.3% |
| 2015 | 0.0% | -124.0% |
| 2016 | 0.2% | +705.3% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | +81.3% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | +34.1% |
| 2019 | 0.5% | +21.8% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -5.9% |
| 2021 | -0.7% | -245.1% |
| 2022 | -0.7% | +3.0% |
| 2023 | -0.7% | +2.6% |
| 2024 | -0.8% | +9.7% |
| 2025 | -0.9% | +13.2% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's -0.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is -0.6%, 1.5× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's -0.9% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0%. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rural population growth (annual %) in Malaysia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | -2322.2% | 0.0% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | +705.3% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 2021 | -245.1% | 0.5% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | +124.0% | -0.1% | 0.0% |
| 1993 | -100.2% | -0.2% | -0.3% |
| 1988 | -97.1% | 0.2% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8% | -0.1% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.4% | -0.5% | -0.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.5% | -0.6% | -0.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1% | -0.2% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.6% | -0.9% | 0.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More agriculture & rural data for Malaysia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0822 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,078 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.913 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2261 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.2% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Malaysia?
- Rural population growth in Malaysia was -0.9% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 1963.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.9% in 2025.
- How does Malaysia rank for rural population growth?
- Malaysia ranks 165th out of 210 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4,369.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.