What Is the Capital of Malaysia? Kuala Lumpur

Q: What time zone is Kuala Lumpur in?

Kuala Lumpur is on UTC+8 — UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time). There is no daylight saving time.

Q: Which capital is closest to Kuala Lumpur?

Among the capitals of neighbouring countries, Jakarta (Indonesia) is the closest, 1,183 km away in a straight line.

Kuala Lumpur at a glance

Name origin

The name means "muddy river junction," referring to the city's location on the confluence of the Kelang and Gombak rivers; it comes from the Malay words kuala (river junction or estuary) and lumpur (mud).

Time zone

UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time). No daylight saving time.

Coordinates

3 10 N, 101 42 E · IANA time zone Asia/Kuala_Lumpur

Location of Malaysia

Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam

Largest cities in Malaysia

1

Kuala Lumpur Capital

8.6 million

2

Johor Bahru

1.1 million

3

Ipoh

857,000

Urban-area population · CIA World Factbook (public domain)

Capitals of neighbouring countries

Capitals closest to Kuala Lumpur

Straight-line distance between capitals.

Frequently asked questions about Kuala Lumpur

What is the capital of Malaysia?

The capital of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur. About 8.6 million people live in the Kuala Lumpur urban area — 24% of the country's population.

Is Kuala Lumpur the largest city in Malaysia?

Yes — Kuala Lumpur is also the largest urban area of Malaysia (8.6 million).

What time zone is Kuala Lumpur in?

Kuala Lumpur is on UTC+8 — UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time). There is no daylight saving time.

Where does the name Kuala Lumpur come from?

The name means "muddy river junction," referring to the city's location on the confluence of the Kelang and Gombak rivers; it comes from the Malay words kuala (river junction or estuary) and lumpur (mud).

Which capital is closest to Kuala Lumpur?

Among the capitals of neighbouring countries, Jakarta (Indonesia) is the closest, 1,183 km away in a straight line.

Data: CIA World Factbook (public domain); population: World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0).

Malaysia country profile All countries and capitals Neighbours of Malaysia