Forcibly displaced people in Malaysia
Malaysia: Forcibly displaced people was 213,175 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Forcibly displaced people in Malaysia, 2010–2025
Source: Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Analysis
In 2025, forcibly displaced people in Malaysia stood at 213,175. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.4% on the previous year and up 37.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forcibly displaced people in Malaysia peaked at 213,175 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 92,835, in 2010.
Malaysia ranks 62nd of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Forcibly displaced people in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 92,835 | — |
| 2011 | 97,594 | +5.1% |
| 2012 | 101,796 | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 140,509 | +38.0% |
| 2014 | 150,579 | +7.2% |
| 2015 | 154,551 | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 148,569 | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 151,346 | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 163,106 | +7.8% |
| 2019 | 179,721 | +10.2% |
| 2020 | 179,724 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 181,458 | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 181,987 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 184,443 | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 191,343 | +3.7% |
| 2025 | 213,175 | +11.4% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 213,175 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 61,510, 3.5× the median. (49 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 213,175 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 6,732, 31.7× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Forcibly displaced people in Malaysia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | +38.0% | 101,796 | 140,509 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 138,061 | 92,835 | 179,721 | 10 |
| 2020s | 188,688 | 179,724 | 213,175 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More social development data for Malaysia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 150,164 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,477 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,477 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0042 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forcibly displaced people in Malaysia?
- Forcibly displaced people in Malaysia was 213,175 in 2025, according to Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
- What is the highest forcibly displaced people recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 213,175 in 2025.
- What is the lowest forcibly displaced people recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 92,835 in 2010.
- How does Malaysia rank for forcibly displaced people?
- Malaysia ranks 62nd out of 180 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forcibly displaced people rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 37.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), published as part of Forcibly displaced people. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Forcibly displaced people are represented by the sum of (1) refugees (and people in a refugee-like situation) under the mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), (2) refugees under the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), (3) asylum-seekers, (4) other people in need of international protection, and (5) internally displaced people (IDPs). Situations in which people are reported in more than one of these categories are accounted for, to the extent possible.