Map of Malaysia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Malaysia was created in 1963 through the merging of Malaya (independent in 1957) and the former British Singapore both of which formed West Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak in north Borneo which composed East Malaysia. The first three years of independence were marred by hostilities with Indonesia. Singapore seceded from the union in 1965.


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Location: Southeastern Asia peninsula and northern one-third of the island of Borneo bordering Indonesia and the South China Sea south of Vietnam

Geographic coordinates: 2 30 N 112 30 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries

Coastline: 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km East Malaysia 2,607 km)

Maritime claims

Climate: tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons

Terrain: coastal plains rising to hills and mountains

Elevation

Natural resources: tin petroleum timber copper iron ore natural gas bauxite

Land use

Irrigated land: 2,941 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: flooding landslides

Geography
Note: strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea


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Population: 21,793,293 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: 2.01% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: 6.8% (1997 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups: Malay and other indigenous 58% Chinese 26% Indian 7% others 9%

Languages: Bahasa Melayu (official) English Chinese dialects (Cantonese Mandarin Hokkien Hakka Hainan Foochow) Tamil Telugu Malayalam Panjabi Thai; note - in addition in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken the largest of which are Iban and Kadazan

Religions: Islam Buddhism Daoism Hinduism Christianity Sikhism; note - in addition Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 2.01% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 25.3 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 5.25 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 20.96 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate: 3.29 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Kuala Lumpur

Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri-negeri singular - negeri) and 2 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan singular - wilayah persekutuan); Johor Kedah Kelantan Labuan* Melaka Negeri Sembilan Pahang Perak Perlis Pulau Pinang Sabah Sarawak Selangor Terengganu Wilayah Persekutuan*

Dependent areas

Independence: 31 August 1957 (from UK)

National holiday: National Day 31 August (1957)

Constitution: 31 August 1957 amended 16 September 1963

Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of nonelected Senate or Dewan Negara (69 seats; 43 appointed by the paramount ruler 26 appointed by the state legislatures) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (193 seats; members elected by popular vote weighted toward the rural Malay population to serve five-year terms)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister

Political parties and leaders: State Reform Party or STAR [PATAV Rubis]; Democratic Action Party or DAP [LIM Kit Siang]; Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia [LIM Keng Yaik]; Liberal Democratic Party [leader NA]; Malaysian Chinese Association or MCA [LING Liong Sik]; Malaysian Indian Congress or MIC [S. Samy VELLU]; National Front or NF [MAHATHIR bin Mohamad] (a coalition of 14 political parties dominated by the UMNO and including the UPKO SAPP and the Liberal Democratic Party); National Justice Party or NJP [WAN AZIZAH Wan Ismail]; Parti Akar [Datuk PANDIKAR Amin Mulia]; Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak or PBDS [Datuk Leo MOGGIE]; Parti Bersekutu [HARRIS Salleh]; Parti Islam SeMalaysia or PAS [Ustaz Fadzil Mohamed NOOR]; Party Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu or PBB [Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud]; Sabah People's Progressive Party or SAPP [YONG Teck Lee]; Sabah People's United Party (Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah) or PBRS [Datuk Joseph KURUP]; Sarawak National Party or SNAP [Datuk Amar James WONG]; Sarawak United People's Party or SUPP [Datuk Dr. George CHAN Hong Nam]; United Kadazan People's Organization or UPKO (formerly Parti Demokratik Sabah) [Bernard DOMPOK]; United Malays National Organization or UMNO [OSU Sukam]; United Sabah Party (main opposition party) (Parti Bersatu Sabah) or PBS [Dr. Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan]

International organization participation: APEC AsDB ASEAN C CCC CP ESCAP FAO G-15 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICFTU ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat Intelsat Interpol IOC ISO ITU MINURSO NAM OIC OPCW UN UN Security Council (temporary) UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNIKOM UNMIBH UNMIK UNTAET UPU WCL WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTrO

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: 14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star; the crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the US

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Malaysia made a quick economic recovery in 1999 from its worst recession since independence in 1957. GDP grew 5% responding to a dynamic export sector which grew over 10% and fiscal stimulus from higher government spending. The large export surplus has enabled the country to build up its already substantial financial reserves to $31 billion at yearend 1999. This stable macroeconomic environment in which both inflation and unemployment stand at 3% or less has made possible the relaxation of most of the capital controls imposed by the government in 1998 to counter the impact of the Asian financial crisis. Government and private forecasters expect Malaysia to continue this trend in 2000 predicting GDP to grow another 5% to 6%. While Malaysia's immediate economic horizon looks bright its long-term prospects are clouded by the lack of reforms in the corporate sector particularly those dealing with competitiveness and high corporate debt.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5% (1999 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $10,700 (1999 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: Peninsular Malaysia - rubber palm oil rice; Sabah - subsistence crops rubber timber coconuts rice; Sarawak - rubber pepper; timber

Industries: Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing light manufacturing industry electronics tin mining and smelting logging and processing timber; Sabah - logging petroleum production; Sarawak - agriculture processing petroleum production and refining logging

Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 9.3 million (1999 est.)
By occupation manufacturing: 27%
By occupation agriculture forestry and fisheries: 16%
By occupation local trade and tourism: 17%
By occupation services: 15%
By occupation government: 10%
By occupation construction: 9% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 3% (1999 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 6.8% (1997 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.8% (1999)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $83.5 billion (1999 est.)
Commodities: electronic equipment petroleum and liquefied natural gas chemicals palm oil wood and wood products rubber textiles
Partners: US 23% Singapore 16% Japan 11% Hong Kong 5% Netherlands 5% Taiwan 5% Thailand 3% (1999 est.)

Imports: $61.5 billion (1999 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals food fuel and lubricants
Partners: Japan 21% US 18% Singapore 14% Taiwan 5% South Korea 5% Thailand 4% China 3% (1999 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $43.6 billion (1999 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: ringgits (M$) per US$1 - 3.8000 (January 2000) 3.8000 (1999) 3.9244 (1998) 2.8133 (1997) 2.5159 (1996) 2.5044 (1995)


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Electricity
Production: 57.435 billion kWh (1998)
Consumption: 53.423 billion kWh (1998)
Exports: 75 million kWh (1998)
Imports: 83 million kWh (1998)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 4.4 million (1998)
Mobile cellular: 2.17 million (1998)

Telephone system: international service good

Broadcast media

Internet
Service providers isps: 8 (1999)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $1.211 billion (FY98)
Percent of gdp: 1.6% (FY98)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 115 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1999 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 1307 km; natural gas 379 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 7,296 km (Peninsular Malaysia 3,209 km Sabah 1569 km Sarawak 2,518 km)

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China Philippines Taiwan Vietnam and possibly Brunei; Philippines have not fully revoked claim to Sabah State; two islands in dispute with Singapore; Sipadan and Ligitan Islands in dispute with Indonesia

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: transit point for some illicit drugs going to Western markets; drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously and carries severe penalties