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MALAYSIA VS ASEAN · URBANISATION · 2025
How urban is Malaysia compared with the rest of ASEAN?
World Bank/UN 2025 urban-population shares for all 11 ASEAN members.
SHOW ME THE DATA2025 · urban population · % of total population
VIEW DATA ASSame source · different visual lens
2025
1Singapore100urban population · % of total population
2Malaysia77urban population · % of total population
3Brunei Darussalam75urban population · % of total population
4Thailand63urban population · % of total population
5Indonesia59urban population · % of total population
6Philippines56urban population · % of total population
7Cambodia41urban population · % of total population
8Lao PDR40urban population · % of total population
9Viet Nam39urban population · % of total population
10Myanmar31urban population · % of total population
11Timor-Leste29urban population · % of total population
UN/United Nations / World Bankurban population · % of total population
SourceUnited Nations / World Bank ↗2025 values · checked 3 Oct 2026HIGH CONFIDENCE
Method & notes
Malaysia is 77% urban, second in ASEAN behind Singapore on this published indicator.
METHOD & LIMITATIONSHow the numbers were calculated
PulseKita compares the same World Bank/UN urban-population indicator and 2025 reference year across all 11 ASEAN members. National urban definitions differ, so this is a consistent published indicator but not a perfectly harmonized measure of metropolitan boundaries.
- Malaysia is 77% urban and ranks 2/11 when ASEAN members are ordered from highest to lowest urban share.
- Singapore is 100%, Brunei Darussalam 75%, Thailand 63%, Indonesia 59% and the Philippines 56%.
- The World Bank world benchmark is 58% and East Asia & Pacific is 65% for 2025.
- Urban population share does not measure city quality, housing affordability or infrastructure performance.
Evidence trail
EVIDENCE CHAINtransformation inherited from methodology
- 1Declared sourceUrban population (% of total population)
- 2TransformationPulseKita compares the same World Bank/UN urban-population indicator and 2025 reference year across all 11 ASEAN members. National urban definitions differ, so this is a consistent published indicator but not a perfectly harmonized measure of metropolitan boundaries.
- 3Published visualRanked snapshot
Source
HIGH CONFIDENCEofficial primary
COVERAGE2025
UNITurban population · % of total population
SOURCEofficial publication
UPDATED2025 values · checked 3 Oct 2026