Building cities that thrive: A need for a comprehensive urban policy

According to a World Bank report published in January 2015, Malaysia has 19 urban areas with more than 100,000 people: one urban area of more than five million people (Kuala Lumpur), two between one and five million (George Town and Johor Baru), five of 500,000 to one million, and 11 urban areas of between 100,000 and 500,000 people.

As of 2010, the Kuala Lumpur urban area was the eighth largest in the region, larger than some megacity urban areas like Jakarta, Manila, and Seoul despite its smaller population.