Demographic profile
Malaysia is the 46th most populous of the 238 countries and territories tracked on this site, home to about 0.43% of everyone alive. Within Southeast Asia, it ranks 6 of 11.
Each day brings roughly 1,439 births and 556 deaths, adding about 322,509 people over a year. At the current natural-increase rate of 0.89% annually, the population would double in roughly 79 years if the rate held. Real trajectories bend as fertility, mortality and migration shift, which is why the chart below shows both history and projection.
Among its first-level divisions, the largest by our modelled allocation is Kedah, holding an estimated 24.7% of the national population. The full breakdown of all 16 states and regions is in the table below — regional figures outside Sudan are modelled estimates built on real region names, and are flagged as such.
Literacy stands near 95.0% and adult smoking prevalence around 21.8%, with life expectancy at about 70.8 years. Baselines come from UN World Population Prospects, the World Bank, WHO surveys, WorldPop and HDX; the counters project them forward in real time — the method, and every caveat, is documented on our data sources page.
Quick answers
What is the population of Malaysia in 2026? Approximately 36,264,058 people (live projection; the counter above updates every second).
How fast is Malaysia growing? About 0.89% per year — roughly 1,439 births and 556 deaths every day.
What share of the world lives in Malaysia? Around 0.43% — ranked 46 worldwide by population.