The municipality is situated within the province of Lapland, and as such is characterized by a sparse population and wide areas of untouched nature and wildlife.

Malå Municipality is also one of the southernmost outposts of the native Sami people settlements.

The nearest towns are Arvidsjaur and Lycksele, at a distance of about 80 kilometers, taking about an hour to drive.

The nearest cities are Skellefteå, Luleå and Umeå on the east coast, each about 200 kilometers away.

[citation needed] There is only one locality (or urban area) in Malå Municipality:[3] This is a demographic table based on Malå Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.