Malaysia: Share of World Population

## What this measures

Malaysia's total population (SP.POP.TOTL, everyone resident regardless of citizenship) divided by the World Bank's world total, as a percentage. Annual since 1990, dated December 31 (the World Bank figure is a midyear estimate).

## Why it matters

The denominator for the people-versus-output comparison: a country with a larger share of world GDP than of world population produces more per person than the world average.

## How to read it

Population shares move slowly: a change of a tenth of a point is a decade of faster or slower growth than the world. Fast-growing countries in Africa and South Asia gain share; East Asia and Europe lose it.

## What it does not say

Censuses are years apart, so recent years are projections from the last census, and countries in conflict are estimates.

## Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.POP.TOTL, from UN World Population Prospects), CC BY 4.0; shares calculated by Palanor.