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Country analysis

Malaysia

Up until October 2025, Malaysia was hosting more than 210,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers. Nearly 90% were from Myanmar, including over 120,000 Rohingya concentrated in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley. Others had arrived from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and other crisis‑affected countries.

Malaysia is a non-signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and lacks its own legal framework recognising refugee status. As a result, refugees and asylum seekers continue to face limited access to formal employment, affordable healthcare, and public education, alongside risks of arrest, detention, and exploitation. Women, children, and undocumented people in informal work are particularly exposed to abuse and gender‑based violence.

Climate-related shocks add to these vulnerabilities. Severe northeast monsoon flooding in late 2024 and renewed heavy rains in late 2025 caused infrastructure damage and livelihood disruption in several states, including Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu. Refugees living in low‑income, flood‑prone urban areas often face repeated flooding, overcrowded housing, and limited access to assistance when disasters occur.

(UNHCR accessed 24/02/2026, Monash University 20/06/2025, Rohingya Khobor 23/01/2026)

Up until October 2025, Malaysia was hosting more than 210,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers. Nearly 90% were from Myanmar, including over 120,000 Rohingya concentrated in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley. Others had arrived from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and other crisis‑affected countries.

Malaysia is a non-signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and lacks its own legal framework recognising refugee status. As a result, refugees and asylum seekers continue to face limited access to formal employment, affordable healthcare, and public education, alongside risks of arrest, detention, and exploitation. Women, children, and undocumented people in informal work are particularly exposed to abuse and gender‑based violence.

Climate-related shocks add to these vulnerabilities. Severe northeast monsoon flooding in late 2024 and renewed heavy rains in late 2025 caused infrastructure damage and livelihood disruption in several states, including Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu. Refugees living in low‑income, flood‑prone urban areas often face repeated flooding, overcrowded housing, and limited access to assistance when disasters occur.

(UNHCR accessed 24/02/2026, Monash University 20/06/2025, Rohingya Khobor 23/01/2026)

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Latest updates on country situation

02 September 2026

Malaysia’s haze crisis is becoming a humanitarian and public health concern as transboundary smoke from Indonesian fires combines with El Niño-driven dry conditions. The deterioration is particularly severe in Serian district, Sarawak state, where the air pollutant index reached 475 on 31 August – almost ten times the 50 maximum of the ‘good’ category. Samarahan and Sri Aman districts and Kuching division also recorded hazardous levels above 300. Earlier in August, IQAir temporarily ranked the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory the world’s most polluted major city, indicating haze is extending beyond Malaysian Borneo Island towards Peninsular Malaysia. Hazardous air pollution is increasing respiratory and cardiovascular risks, particularly for children, older people, pregnant women, and people with pre-existing respiratory or cardiovascular conditions. Earlier, 600 school closures in Sarawak had already disrupted education access for nearly 200,000 students. Continued fires in Indonesia could prolong the haze and sustain health and education disruptions. (APIMS accessed 02/09/2026, Malay Mail 31/08/2026, RTM 20/08/2026)

current crises
in Malaysia

These crises have been identified through the INFORM Severity Index, a tool for measuring and comparing the severity of humanitarian crises globally.

Read more about the Index

MYS001 - International Displacement

Last updated 31/08/2026

Drivers

International Displacement

Crisis level

Country

Severity level

3.8 Low

Access constraints

5.0