Municipal water withdrawal in Malaysia
Malaysia: Municipal water withdrawal was 1.34 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
1.34 billion cubic meters
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
43rd
of 183 countries
All-time high
1.34 billion cubic meters
in 1995
All-time low
818.00 million cubic meters
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Municipal water withdrawal in Malaysia, 1990–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 1.34 billion cubic meters for municipal water withdrawal in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Malaysia peaked at 1.34 billion cubic meters in 1995 and was at its lowest, 818.00 million cubic meters, in 1990.
That places Malaysia 43rd out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 818.00 million cubic meters | — |
| 1991 | 922.80 million cubic meters | +12.8% |
| 1992 | 1.03 billion cubic meters | +11.4% |
| 1993 | 1.13 billion cubic meters | +10.2% |
| 1994 | 1.24 billion cubic meters | +9.3% |
| 1995 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +8.5% |
| 1996 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1.34 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 1.34 billion cubic meters is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 542.00 million cubic meters, 2.5× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 1.34 billion cubic meters is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.04 billion cubic meters, 1.3× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.18 billion cubic meters | 818.00 million cubic meters | 1.34 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.34 billion cubic meters | 1.34 billion cubic meters | 1.34 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.34 billion cubic meters | 1.34 billion cubic meters | 1.34 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.34 billion cubic meters | 1.34 billion cubic meters | 1.34 billion cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More environment data for Malaysia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.65 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.179 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.25 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.446 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 5.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal water withdrawal in Malaysia?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Malaysia was 1.34 billion cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.34 billion cubic meters in 1995.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 818.00 million cubic meters in 1990.
- How does Malaysia rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Malaysia ranks 43rd out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal water withdrawal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year for direct use by the population, usually measured as the total supplied by the public distribution network.