Australia vs Malaysia: Share of population living in rural areas
Australia
17.8%
in 2020
Malaysia
17.7%
in 2020
Australia rank
165th
Malaysia rank
166th
Share of population living in rural areas over time
- Australia
- Malaysia
How they compare
Australia currently reports 17.8% against 17.7% in Malaysia, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Malaysia ahead.
Australia ranks 165th and Malaysia ranks 166th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 2 and Malaysia in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 33.0% | 41.3% | 8.3% | Malaysia |
| 1960s | 29.0% | 37.4% | 8.4% | Malaysia |
| 1970s | 25.7% | 33.8% | 8.1% | Malaysia |
| 1980s | 23.7% | 31.0% | 7.3% | Malaysia |
| 1990s | 22.0% | 26.8% | 4.8% | Malaysia |
| 2000s | 21.3% | 22.2% | 0.9% | Malaysia |
| 2010s | 19.2% | 19.2% | 0.1% | Australia |
| 2020s | 17.8% | 17.7% | 0.1% | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in rural areas, Australia or Malaysia?
- Australia, at 17.8% against 17.7% in Malaysia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in rural areas between Australia and Malaysia?
- 0.1%, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Malaysia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Australia and Malaysia rank globally for share of population living in rural areas?
- Australia ranks 165th and Malaysia ranks 166th 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 Share of population living in rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.