Malaysia’s growth is leaving cities behind Fionne Lim September 17, 2026 This page in: English

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/developmenttalk/malaysia-s-growth-is-leaving-cities-behind Many countries run their urban economies the same way: investment and opportunity concentrate in a handful of large cities, while mid-sized cities with real productive capacity contribute well below their potential. The result is a system under strain at the top and underperforming everywhere else. A new World Bank report on unlocking state-level growth in Malaysia documents this story with evidence. Using two diagnostic tools — Zipf’s Law and an Economic Potential Index (EPI) — the report identifies specific mid-sized cities as places with real strategic assets that are not yet converting them into growth.