Malaysia's population race

Watch how the population ranking of Malaysia's states and federal territories changes from 1970 to 2026.

Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)31 Jul 2026

SHOW ME THE DATA1970 → 2026 · people

VIEW DATA ASSame source · different visual lens

1970

3Johor1.33M

5Kedah989.5K

7Kelantan707.3K

11Melaka419.4K

10Negeri Sembilan500.4K

9Pahang523.8K

2Perak1.63M

13Perlis125.5K

6Pulau Pinang808.6K

8Sabah698.1K

4Sarawak1.04M

1Selangor1.70M

12Terengganu418.8K

14W.P. Kuala Lumpur0

15W.P. Labuan0

16W.P. Putrajaya0

197019702026

Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)Values: people

SourceDepartment of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) ↗31 Jul 2026HIGH CONFIDENCE

Method & notes

IN BRIEF

Long-run state rankings reflect both demographic change and administrative history, so the movement matters more than a single final-year table.

METHOD & LIMITATIONS

Population rank over time

PulseKita filters the DOSM state population table to both sexes, all ages and all ethnic groups, then converts the published values from thousands of people into people for display.

Census years and intercensal estimates follow DOSM's published methodology; the animation visualises the source and does not estimate missing years.
Kuala Lumpur is available from 1980 onwards; before 1980 its population was counted under Selangor. Other federal territories also enter the source series later.

Evidence trail

EVIDENCE CHAINtransformation inherited from methodology

1
Primary evidencePopulation Table: States
2
TransformationPulseKita filters the DOSM state population table to both sexes, all ages and all ethnic groups, then converts the published values from thousands of people into people for display.
3
Published visualAnimated race

Source

HIGH CONFIDENCEofficial primary

COVERAGE1970 → 2026

UNITpeople

SOURCEmachine readable

UPDATED31 Jul 2026

primaryPopulation Table: States