Map of Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia

Butterworth is a city in Penang, Malaysia, with a population of about 107,591. It lies at 5.3991°N, 100.3638°E. Butterworth is about 291 km (181 mi) northwest of Kuala Lumpur, the capital. The nearest city on our map is Perai, 3 km to the southeast.

Butterworth at a glance

Where is Butterworth?

• The 38th largest city in Malaysia by recorded population.
• The 5th largest city in Penang on this site.
• Located in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres.
• Daylight ranges from about 11 h 49 min on the shortest day to 12 h 26 min on the longest day (around 21 December and 21 June).

Cities near Butterworth

• Perai — 3 km southeast
• George Town — 3 km northwest
• Bukit Mertajam — 12 km east
• Kampung Sungai Ara — 13 km southwest
• Tasek Glugor — 17 km northeast
• Kulim — 22 km east
• Nibong Tebal — 29 km southeast
• Sungai Petani — 31 km northeast
• Bedong — 40 km northeast
• Simpang Empat — 58 km southeast

Largest cities in Penang

• Bukit Mertajam — 212,329
• George Town — 158,336
• Kampung Sungai Ara — 140,849
• Tasek Glugor — 135,786
• Perai — 65,301
• Nibong Tebal — 40,072

Largest cities in Malaysia

• Kuala Lumpur — 1,453,975
• Johor Bahru — 858,118
• Kampung Baru Subang — 833,571
• Petaling Jaya — 807,879
• Ipoh — 759,952
• Shah Alam — 740,750
• Malacca — 579,000
• Kota Bharu — 568,900
• Kuantan — 548,014
• Sungai Petani — 544,851

Map of Malaysia and all its cities →

Other places named Butterworth

• Butterworth — Eastern Cape, South Africa

Sources: place names, coordinates, populations and time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0, data retrieved October 2026). Population figures are the latest values recorded in GeoNames; depending on the country they refer to the city proper, a municipality or a wider urban area, so they can differ from census or metro-area figures. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.