Malaysia did not grow evenly. Watch the population centre of gravity move across more than five decades.
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POPULATION · MALAYSIA
Malaysia's population race
Watch how the population ranking of Malaysia's states and federal territories changes from 1970 to 2026.
1970
3Johor1.33M
5Kedah989.5K
7Kelantan707.3K
11Melaka419.4K
10Negeri Sembilan500.4K
9Pahang523.8K
2Perak1.63M
13Perlis125.5K
6Pulau Pinang808.6K
8Sabah698.1K
4Sarawak1.04M
1Selangor1.70M
12Terengganu418.8K
14W.P. Kuala Lumpur0
15W.P. Labuan0
16W.P. Putrajaya0
197019702026
Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)Values: people
STORY NOTES
What makes this worth sharing?
Long-run state rankings reflect both demographic change and administrative history, so the movement matters more than a single final-year table.
SOCIAL HEADLINE
Which Malaysian state climbed the population ranking?
CAPTION
More than five decades of Malaysian population change, compressed into one moving ranking. Watch how the states trade places from 1970 to 2026.
Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Population Table: States.#PulseKita#Malaysia#DataStory#Population
METHODOLOGY
Population rank over time
PulseKita filters the DOSM state population table to both sexes, all ages and all ethnic groups, then converts the published values from thousands of people into people for display.
Census years and intercensal estimates follow DOSM's published methodology; the animation visualises the source and does not estimate missing years.
Kuala Lumpur is available from 1980 onwards; before 1980 its population was counted under Selangor. Other federal territories also enter the source series later.
SOURCEDepartment of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)