This article details the list of the most populous settlements in Malaysia. Malaysia designates all populated regions into three categories: a district, municipality, or city. While district boundaries are limited to individual state-drawn district boundaries, some municipalities and cities are made up of several smaller component districts whose elevated status forms a local government. Thus, this list does not include component districts and only includes overall administrative localities defined by their respective local governments.
Within defined boundaries
This table lists all cities, municipalities and districts in Malaysia whose population exceeds 250,000 people, according to statistics published in the 2020 Malaysian census by the Malaysian Department of Statistics (DOSM). There are 34 populated regions in Malaysia whose population exceeds 250,000 people. All 13 states and the Federal Territories have at least one city, municipality or district whose population exceeded 250,000 people.
This table displays:
The settlement name; The state in which the settlement is located; The settlement's population as of 2020, as estimated in the 2020 census conducted by the DOSM; The settlement's population as of 2010, as estimated in the 2010 census conducted by the DOSM; The settlement's population difference between 2010 and 2020; The land area of the settlement's defined boundaries in square kilometres (km2); The population density of the settlement in people per square kilometres (/km2), as estimated by the settlement's 2020 population figures. Key (local governments and capital status)Regions administered by city halls and councils (Dewan/Majlis Bandaraya) Regions administered by municipal councils (Majlis Perbandaran) Regions administered by district councils (Majlis Daerah)†National capital#State administrative capitals*State royal capitals +List of the largest cities, municipalities, districts in Malaysia (with population figures over 250,000 people) City, municipality or districtState Government census figures Land areaDensity20202010ChangeKuala Lumpur†243 km28,156/km2Kajang788 km21,329/km2Seberang Perai751 km21,265/km2Subang Jaya162 km25,568/km2Klang*573 km21,574/km2Johor Bahru#373 km22,300/km2Shah Alam#290 km22,801/km2George Town#306 km22,596/km2Petaling Jaya97 km27,955/km2Selayang546 km21,400/km2Ipoh#643 km21,182/km2Seremban#923 km2738/km2Iskandar Puteri403 km21,429/km2Kuantan#324 km21,691/km2Sungai Petani913 km2597/km2Ampang Jaya144 km23,964/km2Kota Kinabalu#352 km21,422/km2Malacca City#453,904270 km21,681/km2Sandakan2,275 km2193/km2Alor Setar#666 km2636/km2Tawau6,149 km268/km2Batu Pahat1,873 km2214/km2Kota Bharu116 km23,415/km2Kuala Terengganu#*605 km2621/km2Kuching#431 km2810/km2Sepang619 km2524/km2Kulim774 km2412/km2Muar*1,376 km2229/km2Pasir Gudang360 km2868/km2Kuala Langat858 km2358/km2Kulai747 km2394/km2Kangar#795 km2358/km2Kuala Selangor1,195 km2236/km2Padawan984 km2264/km2
Distribution
There are 34 settlements in Malaysia with a population of over 250,000 people. All 13 states and the Federal Territories have at least one settlement in the list. West Malaysia has more settlements that fit this criterion than East Malaysia, with 29 settlements against the East's five. The states with the smallest number of settlements in this list are Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Terengganu and the Federal Territories, with one locality each respectively, while the state with the highest number of settlements with a population above 250,000 is Selangor, with 10 settlements in the list. PopulationStatesRegionsTotalJHRKDHKTNMLKNSNPHGPNGPRKPLSSBHSWKSGRTRGFTWMEM1,000,000+1122 750,000999,999321599 500,000749,99918111711516250,000499,999142111182263113417Total353211172118326101129534
Gallery
Largest metropolitan areas by population The DOSM does not provide any definitions related to metropolitan areas in Malaysia, nor have any statistical calculations that concern build-up areas surrounding an urban centre. However, several major urban regions, such as Greater Kuala Lumpur, the George Town Conurbation and the Johor Bahru Conurbation (Southern Conurbation), have been well-described as metropolitan areas since the early-2010s by local media and government authorities in the latest edition of the National Physical Plan. Despite this, there remains some ambiguity in defining the actual boundaries of other smaller counterparts.
There are 12 metropolitan areas in Malaysia. Perlis and Kelantan are the only states without one. Greater Kuala Lumpur and the George Town Conurbation are the only metropolitan areas that span multiple states (Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Perak; and Penang, Kedah and Perak, respectively). The latter is also the only metropolitan area where the core city is not its most populated settlement (George Town has a population of 794,313, while Seberang Perai has a population of 946,092).
This table displays: The metropolitan area rank by population as of 2020, as estimated with individual local authority population figures by the DOSM; The name of the metropolitan area; The core city of the metropolitan area; The metropolitan area's population as of 2020, as estimated in the 2020 census conducted by the DOSM; The metropolitan area's population as of 2010, as estimated in the 2010 census conducted by the DOSM; The metropolitan area's population difference between 2010 and 2020; The land area of the metropolitan area's defined boundaries in square kilometres (km2); The population density of the metropolitan area in people per square kilometres (/km2); +List of the largest metropolitan areas in Malaysia by population № Metropolitan areaCore city DOSM census figures Land areaDensity (2020)Ref.20202010Diff.1Greater Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur2,793 km23,062/km22George Town ConurbationGeorge Town3,765 km2756/km23Johor Bahru ConurbationJohor Bahru 4,954 km2502/km24Greater IpohIpoh 1,988 km2495/km25Greater Kota KinabaluKota Kinabalu3,277 km2290/km26Greater KuchingKuching2,031 km2460/km27Kuantan5,211 km2170/km28Seremban metropolitan Seremban1,534 km2518/km29Malacca City metropolitanMalacca City308 km22,087/km210Miri5,205 km260/km211Alor Setar metropolitanAlor Setar609 km2696/km212Kuala Terengganu metropolitanKuala Terengganu605 km2621/km2
See also List of capitals in Malaysia List of cities in Malaysia
References Notes
Citations
Bibliography Academic journals and publications
Articles from magazines, newspapers and websites
Government journals and statistical reports