Malaysian diaspora
Diaspora Malaysia (Malay) | |
|---|---|
Map of the Malaysian Diaspora in the world | |
| Total population | |
| 2,486,673 | |
| Singapore | 1,615,300 |
| Australia | 281,940 |
| Indonesia | 146,200 |
| United Kingdom | 90,163 |
| United States | 73,812 |
| Brunei | 48,100 |
| China | 26,248 |
| Canada | 25,340 |
| Taiwan | 24,323 |
| New Zealand | 23,000 |
| Saudi Arabia | 19,000 |
| Hong Kong | 14,000 |
| South Korea | 13,810 |
| India | 12,109 |
| Japan | 11,471 |
| Germany | 10,846 |
| Libya | 9,000 |
| Netherlands | 6,376 |
| Qatar | 5,000 |
| Ireland | 4,595 |
| United Arab Emirates | 4,500 |
| France | 3,000 |
| Switzerland | 3,000 |
| Egypt | 3,000 |
| Brazil | 2,950 |
| Sweden | 2,000 |
| Sri Lanka | 1,750 |
| Italy | 1,000 |
| Argentina | 1,000 |
| Spain | 1,000 |
| Belgium | 1,000 |
| Denmark | 1,000 |
| Thailand | 1,000 |
| South Africa | 1,000 |
| Algeria | 1,000 |
| Norway | 800 |
| Philippines | 800 |
| Finland | 800 |
| Bahrain | 500 |
| Kuwait | 380 |
| Russia | 40 |
| Iceland | 20 |
| Languages | |
| Malay, Languages of Malaysia and various languages of the countries they inhabit | |
| Religion | |
| Religion in Malaysia | |
The Malaysian diaspora consists of Malaysian citizens who emigrated from Malaysia, or individuals with ancestral connections to its predecessor states, the Federation of Malaya, the Malayan Union or British Malaya, along with their descendants residing in foreign countries. The population is estimated at approximately 1.86 to 2.49 million, comprising both the descendants of early migrants and more recent emigrants from modern-day Malaysia. The largest of these overseas communities are located in Singapore, Australia, Brunei, and the United Kingdom.
Emigration from Malaysia is a complex demographic phenomenon existing for decades and having a number of reasons, with institutional racism being one of the major factors. The process is the reverse of the immigration to Malaysia. Malaysia does not keep track of emigration, and counts of Malaysians abroad are thus only available courtesy of statistics kept by the destination countries. As of 2025, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the population of the Malaysian diaspora stands at 2,486,673.