Rural population in Malaysia
Malaysia: Rural population was 8.13 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
8.13 million
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
67th
of 218 countries
All-time high
9.11 million
in 1988
All-time low
5.88 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Malaysia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 8.13 million for rural population in 2025.
The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Malaysia peaked at 9.11 million in 1988 and was at its lowest, 5.88 million, in 1960.
Malaysia ranks 67th of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 5.88 million | — |
| 1961 | 6.00 million | +2.1% |
| 1962 | 6.13 million | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 6.26 million | +2.2% |
| 1964 | 6.40 million | +2.2% |
| 1965 | 6.54 million | +2.1% |
| 1966 | 6.67 million | +2.1% |
| 1967 | 6.80 million | +1.9% |
| 1968 | 6.93 million | +1.8% |
| 1969 | 7.05 million | +1.8% |
| 1970 | 7.18 million | +1.8% |
| 1971 | 7.32 million | +1.9% |
| 1972 | 7.46 million | +1.9% |
| 1973 | 7.60 million | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 7.74 million | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 7.87 million | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 8.01 million | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 8.14 million | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 8.26 million | +1.6% |
| 1979 | 8.39 million | +1.5% |
| 1980 | 8.54 million | +1.8% |
| 1981 | 8.70 million | +1.9% |
| 1982 | 8.83 million | +1.5% |
| 1983 | 8.93 million | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 9.00 million | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 9.06 million | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 9.10 million | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 9.11 million | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 9.11 million | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 9.10 million | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 9.09 million | -0.1% |
| 1991 | 9.08 million | -0.1% |
| 1992 | 9.07 million | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 9.04 million | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 9.00 million | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 8.96 million | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 8.92 million | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 8.87 million | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 8.82 million | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 8.78 million | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 8.73 million | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 8.70 million | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 8.66 million | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 8.62 million | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 8.57 million | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 8.52 million | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 8.48 million | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 8.43 million | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 8.40 million | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 8.37 million | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 8.35 million | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 8.33 million | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 8.32 million | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 8.30 million | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 8.29 million | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 8.30 million | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 8.31 million | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 8.34 million | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 8.37 million | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 8.41 million | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 8.46 million | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 8.40 million | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 8.34 million | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 8.27 million | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 8.21 million | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 8.13 million | -0.9% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 8.13 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 5.3× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 8.13 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 377,513, 21.5× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.47 million | 5.88 million | 7.05 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 7.80 million | 7.18 million | 8.39 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.95 million | 8.54 million | 9.11 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.96 million | 8.78 million | 9.09 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.55 million | 8.37 million | 8.73 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.33 million | 8.29 million | 8.41 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.30 million | 8.13 million | 8.46 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More agriculture & rural data for Malaysia
- Cropland extent over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Cropland extent over the long-term, per capita 0.2303 hectares per person (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural area over the long-term, per capita 0.2382 hectares per person (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Malaysia?
- Rural population in Malaysia was 8.13 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 9.11 million in 1988.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.88 million in 1960.
- How does Malaysia rank for rural population?
- Malaysia ranks 67th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.