Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is characterized by reasonably priced housing. According to our city rankings, this is a good place to live with high ratings in cost of living, business freedom and leisure & culture.
Kuala Lumpur is one of the top ten city matches for 0.5% of Teleport users.
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Housing| Large apartment | $720.00 |
|---|---|
| Medium apartment | $610.00 |
| Rent index [score] | 0.86 |
| Small apartment | $490.00 |
Cost of Living| 5km taxi ride | $2.90 |
|---|---|
| A Cappuccino | $3.50 |
| A beer | $3.00 |
| A kilogram of Apples | $2.60 |
| Bread | $0.65 |
| Inflation [score] | 0.82 |
| Lunch | $3.60 |
| Monthly fitness club membership | $43.00 |
| Monthly public transport | $35.00 |
| Movie ticket | $3.60 |
| Price of a meal at a restaurant | $26.16 |
Startups| Average monthly increase in number of startups | 5 |
|---|---|
| Average monthly increase in number of startups [score] | 0.41 |
| Coworking spaces [score] | 0.39 |
| Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co | 69 |
| Meetups [score] | 0.42 |
| Meetups groups | 110 |
| Meetups members | 45411 |
| Number of investors | 37 |
| Number of startup events in the last 12 months | 2480 |
| Number of upcoming meetup events | 15 |
| Startup climate scene [score] | 0.58 |
| Startup events | 188 |
| Startup events [score] | 0.77 |
| Startups [score] | 0.70 |
| Total number of startups | 298 |
Venture Capital| Venture capital [score] | 0.42 |
|---|
Travel Connectivity| Airport hub | 115 |
|---|---|
| Airport hub [score] | 0.52 |
| Intercity train connectivity [score] | 0.19 |
Commute| Human city page | http://cities.human.co/details/Malaysia/Kuala_Lumpur |
|---|---|
| Traffic handling [score] | 0.48 |
Business Freedom| Business freedom | 91.40 |
|---|---|
| Business freedom [score] | 1.00 |
| Freedom from corruption | 52.00 |
| Freedom from corruption [score] | 0.48 |
| Lack of labor restrictions | 71.50 |
| Lack of labor restrictions [score] | 0.65 |
| Time to open a business | 18.00 |
| Time to open a business [score] | 0.80 |
Safety| Crime rate [score] | 0.18 |
|---|---|
| Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year | 1 |
| Guns per 100 residents | 2 |
| Lack of gun related deaths [score] | 0.96 |
| Lack of guns [score] | 0.99 |
| Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score] | 0.98 |
Healthcare| Healthcare expenditure [score] | 0.40 |
|---|---|
| Healthcare quality [score] | 0.65 |
| Life expectancy (years) | 74.97 |
| Life expectancy [score] | 0.50 |
Education| Best university in ranking | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
|---|---|
| Best university ranking | 700 |
| Country mean scores in PISA math test | 409.09 |
| Country mean scores in PISA reading test | 398.20 |
| Country mean scores in PISA science test | 419.50 |
| PISA math ranking (high school) | 34 |
| PISA ranking | 38 |
| PISA ranking (high school) [score] | 0.41 |
| PISA reading (high school) | 37 |
| PISA science (high school) | 36 |
| Percent of happy students | 0.88 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA math test | 0.52 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA reading test | 0.53 |
| Percent of low performers in PISA science test | 0.46 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA math test | 0.01 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA reading test | 0.00 |
| Percent of top performers in PISA science test | 0.00 |
| University quality [score] | 0.10 |
Environmental Quality| Air quality [score] | 0.34 |
|---|---|
| Cleanliness [score] | 0.39 |
| Drinking water quality [score] | 0.34 |
| Urban greenery [score] | 0.48 |
Economy| Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area | 4.28 |
|---|---|
| Currency for urban area | MYR |
| GDP growth rate | 0.06 |
| GDP growth rate [score] | 0.86 |
| GDP per capita | $24654.19 |
| GDP per capita [score] | 0.40 |
Taxation| Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score] | 0.61 |
|---|---|
| Income tax level [score] | 0.61 |
| Profit tax (% of profit) | 0.40 |
| Time overhead to file company taxes | 164 |
| VAT (Sales Tax) | 0.06 |
Internet Access| Download speed (Mbps) | 44.77 |
|---|---|
| Internet access (download) [score] | 0.59 |
| Internet access (upload) [score] | 0.50 |
| Upload speed (Mbps) | 11.87 |
Leisure & Culture| Art galleries | 311 |
|---|---|
| Art galleries [score] | 0.85 |
| Cinemas | 288 |
| Cinemas [score] | 1.00 |
| Comedy clubs | 292 |
| Comedy clubs [score] | 0.94 |
| Concert venues | 357 |
| Concerts [score] | 0.88 |
| Historical sites | 243 |
| Historical sites [score] | 0.67 |
| Museums | 159 |
| Museums [score] | 0.76 |
| Performing art venues | 243 |
| Performing arts [score] | 0.83 |
| Sport venues | 253 |
| Sports [score] | 0.96 |
| Zoos | 144 |
| Zoos [score] | 0.95 |
Tolerance| Homosexuality acceptance (percent of the surveyed population in favor) | 0.09 |
|---|---|
| LGBT Equality Index | 17.75 |
| LGBT Equality Index [score] | 0.15 |
| LGBT adoption rights | Married couples only |
| LGBT age of consent | ✔ Equal |
| LGBT blood donation regulations | ✔ Legal |
| LGBT conversion therapy regulations | ✖ Not banned |
| LGBT discrimination legality | ✖ No protections |
| LGBT employment discrimination legality | Ambiguous |
| LGBT gender changing rights | ✖ Illegal |
| LGBT homosexuality rights | ✖ Illegal (imprisonment as punishment) |
| LGBT housing discrimination legality | Ambiguous |
| LGBT marriage rights | ✖ Unrecognized |
| Tolerance towards minorities [score] | 0.16 |
Outdoors| Elevation (hills or mountains) [score] | 0.43 |
|---|---|
| Median peak in meters | 1318.50 |
| Presence of hills in city | 1.00 |
| Presence of mountains in city | 1.00 |
| Urban area elevation (meters) | 44.00 |
| Water access [score] | 0.72 |
Costs of living in Kuala Lumpur are in the least expensive 20 percent of all 248 Teleport cities. Moving to Kuala Lumpur will very likely decrease your daily costs of living. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.
 Monthly fitness club membership | $43 |
|---|---|
 Movie ticket | $4 |
 Broadband internet connection | $41 |
 Monthly public transport | $35 |
 Lunch | $4 |
Software Engineer salaries in Kuala Lumpur are low. For this job type, Kuala Lumpur ranks 231st for salaries among 265 cities. Get access to our salary comparison calculator by signing up. Compare salaries city by city with our free salary wizard and convert your own salary to a local salary in Kuala Lumpur.
The overall crime rate puts Kuala Lumpur in position 250 of 266 Teleport Cities in a ranking for the safest cities.
Illegal
Imprisonment As Punishment
Illegal
No Protections
Unrecognized
Married Couples Only
"Should Society Accept Homosexuality?" (9% Yes, 91% No)
9%
12.5Kuala Lumpur, called KL by locals, is Malaysia's federal capital and largest city at 6.5 million (city-proper population of 1.8 million). Kuala Lumpur is a cultural melting pot with some of the world's cheapest 5-star hotels, impressive shopping districts, food from all parts of the world, and natural wonders within day-trip distance.
Kuala Lumpur is a sprawling city with residential suburbs that seem to go on forever. The city proper is a 243 km2 (94 sq mi) Federal Territory managed by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall and comprising eight divisions which are further split into 42 local areas, mainly for administrative purposes. The following districts have been conceptualised for visitors to Kuala Lumpur.
Beyond the Kuala Lumpur city proper are the adjacent satellite cities of Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, Klang, Port Klang, Ampang, Puchong, Selayang/Rawang, Kajang and Sepang, all in the state of Selangor, which enclaves Kuala Lumpur. These cities all merge such that it can be hard to know where Kuala Lumpur ends and Selangor begins. The culmination of these cities is a huge metropolis known as Greater Kuala Lumpur or more commonly, Klang Valley.
Read moreEvery city comes with a country. How is this one doing in terms of giving back to the global community? Our friends at The Good Country Index measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, and what it takes away, relative to its size.
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