Kuala Lumpur — UN urban centre
Kuala Lumpur: 8,443,731 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #41 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 1629; territory: Malaysia (MYS). UN source workbook.
Method: Degree of Urbanisation (contiguous 1 km2 cells, density 1,500+ people/km2, total 50,000+). This is a source-defined urban centre, not a municipality or province. No association with a separate administrative entity is inferred from proximity or name.
Source centroid: 3.1003, 101.6335. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 170,777 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 707,135 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 1,268,550 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 2,154,831 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 2,855,929 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 4,143,915 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 4,854,181 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 5,655,509 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 6,660,560 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 7,863,028 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 8,443,731 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 9,052,302 | Projection |
| 2035 | 9,559,362 | Projection |
| 2040 | 9,984,498 | Projection |
| 2045 | 10,338,659 | Projection |
| 2050 | 10,627,280 | Projection |
Largest UN urban centres · Fastest-growing urban centres
What changed during your lifetime?
Turn these figures into a private, five-scene personal world story.
Use this source record with the right definition
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.