Map of Malaysia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: During the late 18th and 19th centuries Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948 the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia Philippine claims to Sabah and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965.


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

Geographic coordinates: 2 30 N 112 30 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 329,750 km²
Land: 328,550 km²
Water: 1,200 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries
Total: 2,669 km
Border countries: (3) Brunei 381 km; , Indonesia 1,782 km; , Thailand 506 km

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

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea

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

Terrain: coastal plains rising to hills and mountains

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 5.48%
Permanent crops: 17.61%
Other: 76.91% (2001)

Irrigated land: 3,650 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: flooding landslides forest fires

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


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Population: 23,522,482 (July 2004 est.)
Growth rate: 1.83% (2004 est.)
Below poverty line: 8% (1998 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Malaysian
Adjective: Malaysian

Ethnic groups: Malay and other indigenous 58% Chinese 24% Indian 8% others 10% (2000)

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 are Iban and Kadazan

Religions: Muslim Buddhist Daoist Hindu Christian Sikh; note - in addition Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 33.3% (male 4,033,037; female 3,806,451)
15-64 years: 62.1% (male 7,326,068; female 7,289,783)
65 years and over: 4.5% (male 469,499; female 597,644) (2004 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 23.8 years
Male: 23.2 years
Female: 24.4 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.83% (2004 est.)

Birth rate: 23.37 births/1000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate: 5.08 deaths/1000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate
Note: does not reflect net flow of an unknown number of illegal immigrants from other countries in the region (2004 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
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male/female
Total population: 1.01 male/female (2004 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 18.35 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 21.23 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 15.27 deaths/1000 live births (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 71.95 years
Male: 69.29 years
Female: 74.81 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 52,000 (2003 est.)
Deaths: 2000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 88.7%
Male: 92%
Female: 85.4% (2002)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Malaysia
Former: Federation of Malaysia

Government type
Note: Malaya (what is now Peninsular Malaysia) formed 31 August 1957; Federation of Malaysia (Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore) formed 9 July 1963 (Singapore left Federation on 9 August 1965); nominally headed by paramount ruler and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; all Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers except Melaka and Penang; those two states along with Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia have governors appointed by Malaysian Government; powers of state governments are limited by federal constitution; under terms of federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., right to maintain their own immigration controls); Sabah - currently holds 20 seats in House of Representatives and will hold 25 seats after the next election; Sarawak holds 28 seats in House of Representatives

Capital
Note: Putrajaya is referred to as administrative center not capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur

Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri-negeri singular - negeri) Johor Kedah Kelantan Melaka Negeri Sembilan Pahang Perak Perlis Pulau Pinang Sabah Sarawak Selangor and Terengganu; and one federal territory (wilayah persekutuan) with three components city of Kuala Lumpur Labuan and Putrajaya

Dependent areas

Independence: 31 August 1957 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day/Malaysia 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
Chief of state: Paramount Ruler Tuanku SYED SIRAJUDDIN ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail, the Raja of Perlis (since 12 December 2001)
Head of government: Prime Minister ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi (since 31 October 2003); Deputy Prime Minister NAJIB Tun Razak (since 7 January 2004)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament with consent of the paramount ruler
Elections: paramount ruler elected by and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states for five-year terms; election last held 12 December 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins a plurality of seats in the House of Representatives becomes prime minister
Election results: Tuanku SYED SIRAJUDDIN ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail elected paramount ruler

Legislative branch
Elections: House of Representatives - last held 21 March 2004 (next must be held by 2009)
Election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - BN 91%, DAP 5%, PAS 3%, other 1%; seats by party - BN 199, DAP 12, PAS 6, Keadilan 1, independent 1

Judicial branch: Federal Court (judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister)

Political parties and leaders: ruling-coalition National Front (Barisan Nasional) or BN consisting of the following parties: Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Party or PGRM [LIM Keng Yaik]; Liberal Democratic Party (Parti Liberal Demokratik - Sabah) or LDP [CHONG Kah Kiat]; Malaysian Chinese Association (Persatuan China Malaysia) or MCA [ONG Ka Ting]; Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongresi India Malaysia) or MIC [S. Samy VELLU]; Parti Bersatu Pakyat Sabah or PBRS [Joseph KURUP]; Parti Bersatu Sabah or PBS [Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan]; Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu or PBB [Patinggi Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud]; Parti Rakyat Sarawak or PRS [James MASING]; Sabah Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Sabah) or SAPP [YONG Teck Lee]; Sarawak United People's Party (Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sarawak) or SUPP [George CHAN Hong Nam]; United Malays National Organization or UMNO [ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi]; United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organization (Pertubuhan Pasko Momogun Kadazan Dusun Bersatu) or UPKO [Bernard DOMPOK]; People's Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Penduduk Malaysia) or PPP [M.Keyveas]; Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party or SPDP [William MAWANI]; opposition parties: Democratic Action Party (Parti Tindakan Demokratik) or DAP [KARPAL Singh]; Islamic Party of Malaysia (Parti Islam se Malaysia) or PAS [Abdul HADI Awang]; People's Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) or PKR [WAN AZIZAH Wan Ismael]; Sarawak National Party or SNAP [Edwin DANDUNG]; opposition coalition Alternative Front (Barisan Alternatif) or BA consists of PAS and PKR

International organization participation: ABEDA APEC ARF AsDB ASEAN BIS C CP FAO G-15 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ISO ITU MIGA MINURSO MONUC NAM OIC ONUB OPCW PCA UN UNAMSIL UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNMEE UNMIK UNMIL UNMISET UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador GHAZZALI bin Sheikh Abdul Khalid
In the us chancery: 3,516 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 572-9,700
In the us fax: [1] (202) 572-9,882
In the us consulates general: Los Angeles and New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher J. LAFLEUR
From the us embassy: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50,400 Kuala Lumpur
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box No. 10,035, 50,700 Kuala Lumpur; American Embassy Kuala Lumpur, APO AP 96,535-8,152
From the us telephone: [60] (3) 2,168-5,000
From the us fax: [60] (3) 2,142-2,207

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 14-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 a middle-income country transformed itself from 1971 through the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven by exports - particularly of electronics. As a result Malaysia was hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the information technology (IT) sector in 2001 and 2002. GDP in 2001 grew only 0.5% due to an estimated 11% contraction in exports but a substantial fiscal stimulus package equal to US $1.9 billion mitigated the worst of the recession and the economy rebounded in 2002 with a 4.1% increase. The economy grew 4.9% in 2003 notwithstanding a difficult first half when external pressures from SARS and the Iraq War led to caution in the business community. Healthy foreign exchange reserves and a relatively small external debt make it unlikely that Malaysia will experience a crisis similar to the one in 1997 but the economy remains vulnerable to a more protracted slowdown in Japan and the US top export destinations and key sources of foreign investment. The Malaysian ringgit is pegged to the dollar and the Japanese central bank continues to intervene and prop up the yen against the dollar.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5.2% (2003 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2003 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 7.3%
Industry: 33.5%
Services: 59.1% (2003 est.)

Agriculture products: Peninsular Malaysia - rubber palm oil cocoa 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: 9.3% (2003 est.)

Labor force: 10.26 million (2003 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 14.5%
By occupation industry: 36%
By occupation services: 49.5% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 3.6% (2003 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 8% (1998 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.4%
Highest 10: 39.2% (2003 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index: 49.2 (1997)

Budget
Revenues: $22.95 billion
Expenditures: $27.75 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.4 billion (2003 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 45.5% of GDP (2003)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.1% (2003 est.)

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: $13.38 billion (2003)

Exports: $98.4 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Commodities: electronic equipment petroleum and liquefied natural gas wood and wood products palm oil rubber textiles chemicals
Partners: US 19.6% Singapore 15.7% Japan 10.7% China 6.5% Hong Kong 6.5% Thailand 4.4% (2003)

Imports: $74.4 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Commodities: electronics machinery petroleum products plastics vehicles iron and steel products chemicals
Partners: Japan 17.3% US 15.5% Singapore 11.9% China 8.8% South Korea 5.5% Taiwan 5% Germany 4.7% Thailand 4.6% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $48.84 billion (2003 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: ringgits per US dollar - 3.8 (2003) 3.8 (2002) 3.8 (2001) 3.8 (2000) 3.8 (1999)


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Electricity
Production: 75.33 billion kWh (2002)
Consumption: 68.4 billion kWh (2002)
Exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 53.66 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Consumption: 31.25 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Exports: 22.41 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Proven reserves: 2.23 trillion m³ (1 January 2002)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 4,571,600 (2003)
Mobile cellular: 11,124,100 (2003)

Telephone system
General assessment: modern system; international service excellent
Domestic: good intercity service provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave radio relay; adequate intercity microwave radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; domestic satellite system with 2 earth stations
International: country code - 60; submarine cables to India, Hong Kong, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) (2001)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .my
Hosts: 107,971 (2003)
Users: 8,692,100 (2003)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $1.69 billion (FY00 est.)
Percent of gdp: 2.03% (FY00)

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: 117 (2003 est.)
With paved runways total: 38
With paved runways over 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 10
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9
With paved runways under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 79
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 72 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2003 est.)

Pipelines: condensate 279 km; gas 5,047 km; oil 1841 km; refined products 114 km (2004)

Railways
Total: 2,418 km (207 km electrified)
Standard gauge: 57 km 1.435-m gauge (57 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 2,361 km 1.000-m gauge (150 km electrified) (2003)

Roadways

Waterways
Note: Peninsular Malaysia 3,200 km, Sabah 1,500 km, Sarawak 2,500 km (2004)

Merchant marine
Total: 360 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,389,397 GRT/7,539,178 DWT
By type: bulk 59, cargo 100, chemical tanker 38, container 66, liquefied gas 25, livestock carrier 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 56, roll on/roll off 5, vehicle carrier 8
Foreign owned: China 1, Germany 2, Hong Kong 8, Indonesia 2, Japan 2, South Korea 1, Liberia 1, Monaco 1, Norway 1, Philippines 2, Singapore 81, Vietnam 1
Registered in other countries: 75 (2004 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: involved in complex dispute with China Philippines Taiwan Vietnam and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 'Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea' has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding 'code of conduct' desired by several of the disputants; disputes over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore Singapore's land reclamation bridge construction maritime boundaries and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih persist - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands off the coast of Sabah also claimed by Indonesia and Philippines to Malaysia; a 1 kilometer segment at the mouth of the Golok River remains in dispute with Thailand; Philippines retains a now dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo based on the Sultanate of Sulu's granting the Philippines Government power of attorney to pursue the Sultanate's sovereignty claim; in 2003 Brunei and Malaysia ceased gas and oil exploration in their offshore and deepwater seabeds until negotiations progress to an agreement over allocation of disputed areas; Malaysia's land boundary with Brunei around Limbang is in dispute

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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