Does Malaysia have more people than Thailand?
No. Malaysia has fewer people than Thailand: about 36 million against 71.6 million (World Bank estimates for 2025); Thailand has twice as many.
Thailand is also more crowded: 140 people per km² of land against 110.
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Why it surprises
Malaysia and Thailand are neighbours with land areas of about 329,000 km² and 511,000 km² in our deck, both with famous, busy capitals, so it is easy to guess their populations are similar. In fact Thailand has about twice as many people: about 71.6 million against 36 million in the World Bank’s 2025 estimates. The two countries’ own statistics tell the same story in their own ways. Malaysia’s statistics office estimated about 34.2 million people in 2025, a figure that includes about 3.4 million non-citizens living there, while Thailand’s 2025 census counted about 70.3 million people at their usual place of residence. Those national methods differ, so their totals are not exact matches for the World Bank’s, but all of them put Thailand far ahead, by more than 35 million people.
Sources for this explanation
- World Bank: api.worldbank.org, checked 25 October 2026
- Department of Statistics Malaysia: dosm.gov.my, checked 25 October 2026
- National Statistical Office of Thailand: nso.go.th, checked 25 October 2026
Where the numbers come from
Population and area: The World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0). Total population (SP.POP.TOTL) for 2025. Details: Malaysia and Thailand.
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