Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur
Federal capital city and federal territory
Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur
Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Other transcription(s)
 • Jawiکوالا لومڤور‎‎
 • Mandarin吉隆坡
Jílóngpō (Hanyu Pinyin)
 • Cantonesegat1 lung4 bo1 (Jyutping)
gāt lùhng bō (Yale Romanisation)
 • Tamilகோலாலம்பூர்
Kōlālampūr (Transliteration)
Skyline of CBD at night
Merdeka Square
National Mosque
Bukit Bintang
Petaling Street
National Palace
National Monument
Flag of Kuala Lumpur
Flag
Coat of arms of Kuala Lumpur
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): 
KL , New York of Southeast Asia
Motto(s): 
Bersedia Menyumbang Bandaraya Cemerlang
English: Ready to Contribute towards an Excellent City
Anthem: Maju dan Sejahtera
English: Progress and Prosper
Map
Location of Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is located in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is located in Southeast Asia
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is located in Asia
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is located in Earth
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Coordinates: 03°08′52″N 101°41′43″E / 3.14778°N 101.69528°E / 3.14778; 101.69528
Country Malaysia
Administrative areas
List
Establishment1857[1]
City status1 February 1972
Transferred to federal jurisdiction1 February 1974
Government
 • TypeFederal administration
with local government
 • BodyKuala Lumpur City Hall
 • MayorMaimunah Mohd Sharif
Federal representationParliament of Malaysia
 • Dewan Rakyat seats11 of 222 (5.0%)
 • Dewan Negara seats2 of 70 (2.9%)
Area
[2]
 • Federal capital city and federal territory243 km2 (94 sq mi)
 • Metro
2,243.27 km2 (866.13 sq mi)
Elevation
[3]
63 m (207 ft)
Highest elevation
(Bukit Dinding)
302 m (991 ft)
Population
 (Q1 2024)[4]
 • Federal capital city and federal territory2,075,600
 • Rank1st
 • Density8,500/km2 (22,000/sq mi)
 • Urban
8,430,775
 • Metro
[5]
8,815,630
 • Metro density2,708/km2 (7,010/sq mi)
 • Demonym
KLite / KL-ite / Kuala Lumpurian
City Index
 • HDI (2022)0.886 (very high) (1st)[6]
 • GDP (2023)RM 277.519 billion (US$60.387 billion) (2nd)[7]
 • Per capita (2023)RM 131,038 ($28,520) (1st)[7]
Time zoneUTC+8 (MST)
Postal code
50000 to 60000
Mean solar timeUTC+06:46:46
Area code(s)03
Vehicle registrationV and W (except taxis)
HW (for taxis only)
ISO 3166-2MY-14
Official language(s)Malay
Websitewww.dbkl.gov.my

Kuala Lumpur,[a] officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur,[b] and colloquially referred to as KL, is the capital city and a federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of 243 km2 (94 sq mi) with a census population of 2,075,600 as of 2024.[8] Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 8.8 million people as of 2024. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, both in population and economic development.

The city serves as the cultural, financial, tourism, political and economic centre of Malaysia. It is also home to the bicameral Parliament of Malaysia (consisting of the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara) and the Istana Negara, the official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (monarch of Malaysia). Kuala Lumpur was first developed around 1857 as a town serving the tin mines of the region, and important figures such as Yap Ah Loy and Frank Swettenham were instrumental in the early development of the city during the late 19th century. It served as the capital of Selangor from 1880 until 1978. Kuala Lumpur was the founding capital of the Federation of Malaya and its successor, Malaysia. The city remained the seat of the executive and judicial branches of the Malaysian federal government until these were relocated to Putrajaya in early 1999.[9] However, some sections of the political bodies still remain in Kuala Lumpur. The city is one of the three Federal Territories of Malaysia,[10] enclaved within the state of Selangor, on the central west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.[11]

Since the 1990s, the city has played host to many international sporting, political and cultural events, including the 1998 Commonwealth Games, 2001 Southeast Asian Games, 2017 Southeast Asian Games, Formula One, Moto GP and FIFA World Youth Championships. Kuala Lumpur has undergone rapid development in recent decades and is home to the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Towers which have since become an iconic symbol of Malaysian development. Kuala Lumpur is well connected with neighboring urban metro regions such as Petaling Jaya via the rapidly expanding Klang Valley Integrated Transit System. Residents of the city can also travel to other parts of Peninsular Malaysia as well as to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) via rail through KL Sentral.

Kuala Lumpur was ranked the 6th most-visited city in the world on the Mastercard Destination Cities Index in 2019.[12] The city houses three of the world's ten largest shopping malls.[13] Kuala Lumpur ranks 70th in the world and the second in Southeast Asia after Singapore for the Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Ranking[14] and ninth in ASPAC and second in Southeast Asia after Singapore for KPMG's Leading Technology Innovation Hub 2021.[15] Kuala Lumpur was named World Book Capital 2020 by UNESCO.[16][17] In 2024, Kuala Lumpur was ranked second for the best outstanding city in Southeast Asia after Singapore and 135th in the world by the Oxford Economic Papers' Global Cities Index.

  1. ^ "Malaya Celebrates, 1959". British Pathé. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Laporan Kiraan Permulaan 2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Malaysia Elevation Map (Elevation of Kuala Lumpur)". Flood Map : Water Level Elevation Map. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Demographic Statistics, First Quarter 2024". Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  5. ^ "World Urbanization Prospects, The 2018 Revision" (PDF). UN DESA. 7 August 2019. p. 77. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Malaysia Human Development Index (MHDI), 2022". Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Department of Statistics Malaysia Official Portal". www.dosm.gov.my. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur". Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Putrajaya – Administrative Capital of Malaysia". Government of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  10. ^ Jeong Chun Hai @Ibrahim, & Nor Fadzlina Nawi. (2007). Principles of Public Administration: An Introduction. Kuala Lumpur: Karisma Publications. ISBN 978-983-195-253-5
  11. ^ Gwillim Law (30 June 2015). "Malaysia States". Statoids. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  12. ^ "Mastercard Destination Cities Index 2019" (PDF). MasterCard. 4 September 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  13. ^ Violet Kim (19 February 2014). "12 best shopping cities in the world". CNN Travel. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  14. ^ "KL is second most liveable city in Southeast Asia". The Sun. 17 August 2017. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  15. ^ "KPMG Leading Technology Innovation Hub 2021". KPMG. 17 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Kuala Lumpur named World Book Capital 2020". UNESCO. 30 September 2018. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Unesco names Kuala Lumpur World Book Capital". The Straits Times. 30 September 2018. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.


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