Afghanistan vs Malaysia: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Afghanistan
6.09 million people
in 2020
Malaysia
6.00 million people
in 2020
Afghanistan rank
53rd
Malaysia rank
54th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Afghanistan
- Malaysia
How they compare
Afghanistan currently reports 6.09 million people against 6.00 million people in Malaysia, a difference of 84,360 people.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Afghanistan ahead.
Afghanistan ranks 53rd and Malaysia ranks 54th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Afghanistan averaged higher in 7 and Malaysia in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 3.91 million people | 2.69 million people | 1.22 million people | Afghanistan |
| 1960s | 4.24 million people | 3.18 million people | 1.06 million people | Afghanistan |
| 1970s | 4.66 million people | 3.66 million people | 999,685 people | Afghanistan |
| 1980s | 4.70 million people | 4.36 million people | 341,715 people | Afghanistan |
| 1990s | 5.02 million people | 5.11 million people | 87,465 people | Malaysia |
| 2000s | 5.80 million people | 5.41 million people | 391,280 people | Afghanistan |
| 2010s | 6.12 million people | 5.73 million people | 387,930 people | Afghanistan |
| 2020s | 6.09 million people | 6.00 million people | 84,360 people | Afghanistan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Afghanistan or Malaysia?
- Afghanistan, at 6.09 million people against 6.00 million people in Malaysia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Afghanistan and Malaysia?
- 84,360 people, with Afghanistan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Malaysia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Afghanistan and Malaysia rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Afghanistan ranks 53rd and Malaysia ranks 54th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.