Malaysia vs United States of America

Malaysia cost of livingMalaysiaUnited States of America cost of livingUnited States of America
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Malaysia runs 116.6 men per 100 women aged 20โ€“39 against 106.9 in United States of America. Visa-free entry is 90 days against 90. On the 14 measures both countries carry, Malaysia leads 4.

The difference at a glance

Green favours the United States of America. Country figures. Cities inside one country differ, often by more than the countries differ from each other.

Head to head

Each row is named for the thing more of which is better, so a longer bar always wins.

MalaysiaUnited States of America
116.6More women 20โ€“39men per 100 women, national census106.9
90Longer visa-free staydays, typical Western passport90
30%Lower income taxtop personal rate, not an effective rate37%
0.7Saferhomicides per 100,000 a year5.8
76.8Longer life expectancyyears at birth78.9
$41,498RicherGDP per capita, current USD$90,027
72/100More politically stable0 to 10064/100
58/100Less corruption0 to 10070/100

Longer is better. Bar length is the rank among all countries we hold that measure for, not a share of the pair.

Every country measure, side by side

National figures throughout. What a city inside either country costs, and how its own sex ratio runs, is the table below this one.

National men per 100 womenthe city figure is above116.6106.99.7
Visa-free entrylongest headline entry for a typical Western passport90900 days
Top personal income tax rateheadline rate, not an effective rate30%37%7 points
English proficiencyadult proficiency score581n/aโ€”
Homicide rateper 100,000 per year0.75.85.1
Life expectancyyears at birth76.878.92.1 years
GDP per capitacurrent USD$41,498$90,0272.17ร— as much
Female labour force participationno direction is asserted52%56%โ€”
Fertility ratebirths per woman1.541.63โ€”
Obesity, womenage-standardised28.9%42.4%13.5 points
Mean height, womenadults157 cm / 5โ€ฒ2โ€ณ163 cm / 5โ€ฒ4โ€ณโ€”
Political stability0 to 100, higher is more stable72/10064/1008 points
Low corruption0 to 100, higher is cleaner58/10070/10012 points
Digital nomad visamax stay; headline route, not a guarantee24 monthsn/aโ€”
Never-married women, 20โ€“39census or survey, years differ between countries33.4%49.7%โ€”
Main languagethe city may differMalayEnglishโ€”

Data updated August 6, 2026.

Sex ratio by age

Men per 100 women in each five-year band, with 100 as parity. National census age×sex tables, which is the one figure on this page no cost-of-living site holds.

MalaysiaUnited States of America80901001101201520253035404550556065age band, lower boundmen per 100 women

Every city we track in both

A national sex ratio is an average of places that do not resemble each other. These are the cities behind it.

Malaysia

CityMen/100 womenEssentials
Kota Kinabaluunit level105.3$523
George Townunit level106.8$614
Kuala Lumpurunit level120.6$698
Ipohunit level124.4
Malaccaunit level125.3
Johor Bahruunit level125.6$678

United States of America

CityMen/100 womenEssentials
New Orleanscounty level85.7$2,455
Washingtoncounty level87.8$3,391
Philadelphiacounty level91.3$2,442
New York Citycounty level93.1$4,213
Nashvillecounty level94.2$2,409
Bostoncounty level95.7$3,935
Detroitcounty level96.4$1,931
Atlantacounty level97.5$2,713
Chicagocounty level99.0$2,701
Tampacounty level99.1$2,674
Portlandcounty level99.1$2,887
Houstoncounty level100.9$2,393
Dallascounty level101.0$2,526
Omahacounty level101.4$2,164
Las Vegascounty level102.3$2,555
Los Angelescounty level102.6$3,629
Minneapoliscounty level102.9$2,319
Miamicounty level103.8$3,413
Denvercounty level104.2$2,713
Phoenixcounty level104.4$2,526
San Antoniocounty level104.7$1,985
San Franciscocounty level108.3$4,016
Seattlecounty level109.1$3,250
Austincounty level109.2$2,302
San Diegocounty level111.1$3,878
San Josecounty level114.3$3,837
Honolulucounty level116.4$3,433

Malaysia spans 20.3 points across its 6 tracked cities, United States of America 30.7 across 27. The national figure is the average of neither.

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