South-East Asia Cities at a Glance

There are 11 cities in this list, minus Brunei’s capital city. Originally, I intended to curate just only capital cities in south-east Asia (SEA) nations; however, a few countries such as Myanmar’s, Vietnam’s, and Indonesia’s secondary cities have greater populations than their capital city. Jakarta stands as Indonesia’s capital at the moment until the planned inauguration of their new capital city on 17 August 2024.

Cities below are sorted by size, smallest to largest. The size of those cities is set by administrative boundaries; it does not express the land cover and city sprawl.

Kuala Lumpur

Country: Malaysia.

Full name: Federal territory of Kuala Lumpur.

Population: Estimate 8,815,630 (2024).

Founded: 19th century, 1857.

Interesting Fact: Kuala Lumpur means river junction in Malay.

This is because the city is where the rivers Klang and Gombak flow together. This we a deliberate decision during the city’s founding in the 19th century.

Website: Portal Rasmi Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur – DBKL

Masterplan: Pelan Struktur Kuala Lumpur 2040 – PPKL2040 (dbkl.gov.my)

Land area: 243 km².

Vision: 2040 vision of Kuala Lumpur is to be a city for all.

Manila

Country: Philippines.

Full Name: Lungsod ng Maynila means the City of Mania.

Population: Estimate 14,941,953 (2024).

Founded: May 19 1571.

Interesting fact: Manila’s population density is the highest of any city in the world.

Land area: 636 km²

Website: City of Manila Local Government System; Home (mmda.gov.ph)

Vision: Metro Manila for all; Green, connected, resilient; offering talent and opportunity; processing knowledge and delivering services at home and abroad.

Jakarta

Country: Indonesia.

Full Name: Daerah Khusu Ibukota Jakarta.

Population: Estimate 11,436,004 (2024).

Founded: June 22, 1527.

Website: Jakarta

Land area: 662.33 km².

Vision: Realizing a Smart City 4.0 Ecosystem through the 4 principles of Jakarta Smart City (JSC): Mobile first, Data driven, Digital Xperience, and Smart Collaboration. Jakarta Smart City | Building A Smart City

Phnom Penh

Country: Cambodia.

Full Name: Krong Chaktomuk Mongkol Sakal Kampuchea Thipadie Serei Theakreak Bavar Intabat Borei Raot Reach Seima Moha Nokor.

Meaning: The place of four rivers that gives the happiness and success of the Khmer Kingdom, the highest leader as well as impregnable city of the God Indra of the great Kingdom.
Population: Estimate 2,352,680 (2024).

Founded: 1372 and reestablished in 1865.

Website: Phnom Penh City | Phnom Penh Capital Hall

Masterplan: Land use master plan of Phnom Penh city 2035

Land area: 679 km².

Vision: In 2035 “Phnom Penh will become a clean, green and competitive city offering a safe and quality of life to its residents” and “…provide urban resilience for all citizens to natural, climatic and other risk”.

Singapore City

Country: Singapore.

Full Name: Lion City – Singapura.

Population: Estimate 6,119,203 (2024).

Founded: August 9, 1965.

Website: gov.sg | Home (www.gov.sg)

Land area: 734.3 km².

Vision: By 2030, Singapore will be a green and beautiful City in Nature.

Five pillars of the green plan:

City in Nature
Energy Reset
Sustainable Living
Green Economy
Resilient Future

Our Vision (greenplan.gov.sg)

Bangkok

Country: Thailand.

Full Name: Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayuthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomrachaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathi Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit.

Meaning: The Great City of Angels.

Population: Estimate 11,233,869 (2024).

Founded: April 21, 1782.

Website: กรุงเทพมหานคร (bangkok.go.th)

Land area: 1,569 km².

Vision: The Vibrant of Asia (2032).

The six dimensions of its vision comprise: