---
title: "Malaysia vs Russia — area, population, currency"
description: "Malaysia is 329,847 km² with 35,977,838 people; Russia is 17,098,242 km² with 143,513,328. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/malaysia-vs-russia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Malaysia vs Russia

**Malaysia vs Russia: Russia is larger; Russia has more people**

329,847 km² vs 17,098,242 km² · 35,977,838 vs 143,513,328

Russia is 52 times larger than Malaysia — 17,098,242 against 329,847 km². Russia is 4.0 times more populous than Malaysia — 143,513,328 against 35,977,838 people.

## Side by side

|  | Malaysia | Russia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Kuala Lumpur (national); Putrajaya (administrative) | Moscow |
| Area | 329,847 km² | 17,098,242 km² |
| Population | 35,977,838 (2025) | 143,513,328 (2025) |
| Density | 109.1 /km² | 8.4 /km² |
| Currency | Malaysian ringgit (MYR) | Russian ruble (RUB) |
| Official languages | English, Malay | Russian |
| Time zones | UTC+08:00 | UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00, UTC+04:00, UTC+05:00, UTC+06:00, UTC+07:00, UTC+08:00, UTC+09:00, UTC+10:00, UTC+11:00, UTC+12:00 |
| Calling code | +60 | +7 |
| Drives on the | left | right |
| Continent | Asia | Europe |
| ISO codes | MY / MYS | RU / RUS |

## Population density

Malaysia is 13 times more densely populated than Russia — 109 against 8 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

## Practical differences

- They drive on opposite sides — Malaysia on the left, Russia on the right.
- Different currencies: the Malaysian ringgit and the Russian ruble.
- Russia spans 11 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.
- Different continents — Asia and Europe.

## Malaysia

Split between the Malay Peninsula and northern Borneo, separated by about 640 km of the South China Sea. Mount Kinabalu on Borneo is 4,095 m and still rising a few millimetres a year. The rainforest here is estimated at 130 million years old, among the oldest on Earth.

## Russia

The largest country in the world by land area, close to twice the size of the next one, and it spans eleven time zones. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest lake on Earth at 1,642 m and holds roughly a fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh water — more than all five North American Great Lakes combined. Russia and China each border fourteen countries, more than any other state.

> Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.

## Common questions

### Is Malaysia bigger than Russia?

Russia is larger — 17,098,242 km² against 329,847 km².

### Which has more people, Malaysia or Russia?

Russia, with 143,513,328 against 35,977,838.

### What is the time difference between Malaysia and Russia?

Malaysia is UTC+08:00 and Russia is UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00, UTC+04:00, UTC+05:00, UTC+06:00, UTC+07:00, UTC+08:00, UTC+09:00, UTC+10:00, UTC+11:00, UTC+12:00. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

## Related pages

- [Malaysia](https://atoneplace.net/country/malaysia/)
- [Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country/russia/)
- [India vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-russia/)
- [India vs Malaysia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-malaysia/)
- [China vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-russia/)
- [China vs Malaysia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-malaysia/)
- [Japan vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-russia/)
- [Japan vs Malaysia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-malaysia/)
- [Canada vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-russia/)
- [Canada vs Malaysia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-malaysia/)
- [Australia vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-russia/)
- [Australia vs Malaysia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-malaysia/)
- [New Zealand vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/new-zealand-vs-russia/)
- [France vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/france-vs-russia/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]