Madagascar vs Malaysia: Share of urban population who live in the largest city
Madagascar
28.4%
in 2020
Malaysia
28.2%
in 2020
Madagascar rank
80th
Malaysia rank
81st
Share of urban population who live in the largest city over time
- Madagascar
- Malaysia
How they compare
Madagascar currently reports 28.4% against 28.2% in Malaysia, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Madagascar ahead.
Madagascar ranks 80th and Malaysia ranks 81st of 179 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Madagascar averaged higher in 6 and Malaysia in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Madagascar | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 20.0% | 2.3% | 17.7% | Madagascar |
| 1960s | 19.7% | 2.8% | 16.9% | Madagascar |
| 1970s | 18.5% | 3.6% | 14.9% | Madagascar |
| 1980s | 20.2% | 9.9% | 10.2% | Madagascar |
| 1990s | 24.1% | 17.8% | 6.2% | Madagascar |
| 2000s | 21.8% | 23.7% | 1.9% | Malaysia |
| 2010s | 24.9% | 25.4% | 0.4% | Malaysia |
| 2020s | 28.4% | 28.2% | 0.2% | Madagascar |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of urban population who live in the largest city, Madagascar or Malaysia?
- Madagascar, at 28.4% against 28.2% in Malaysia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of urban population who live in the largest city between Madagascar and Malaysia?
- 0.2%, with Madagascar ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Madagascar and Malaysia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Madagascar and Malaysia rank globally for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
- Madagascar ranks 80th and Malaysia ranks 81st of 179 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of urban population who live in the largest city. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of the urban population living in the country's largest city (by population). City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.