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

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Background:


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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: 329,847 km²
Land: 328,657 km²
Water: 1,190 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries
Total: 2,742 km
Border countries: (3) Brunei 266 km; Indonesia 1,881 km; Thailand 595 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
Highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,095 m
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 419 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 23.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 2.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 19.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 0.9% (2018 est.)
Forest: 62% (2018 est.)
Other: 14.8% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 4,420 km² (2020)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 1.34 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 1.64 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 2.51 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 580 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding; landslides; forest fires

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


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Population
Distribution: a highly uneven distribution with over 80% of the population residing on the Malay Peninsula: 34,219,975 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 1.01% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 5.6% (2018 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Malaysian(s)
Adjective: Malaysian

Ethnic groups: Bumiputera 62.5% (Malays and indigenous peoples, including Orang Asli, Dayak, Anak Negeri), Chinese 20.6%, Indian 6.2%, other 0.9%, non-citizens 9.8% (2019 est.)

Languages: Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; note - Malaysia has 134 living languages - 112 indigenous languages and 22 non-indigenous languages; in East Malaysia, there are several indigenous languages; the most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan
Major-language samples:

Religions: Muslim (official) 61.3%, Buddhist 19.8%, Christian 9.2%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 1.3%, other 0.4%, none 0.8%, unspecified 1% (2010 est.)

Demographic profile: Malaysia’s multi-ethnic population consists of the bumiputera - Malays and other indigenous peoples - (62%), ethnic Chinese (21%), ethnic Indians (6%), and foreigners (10%). The majority of Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese and Indians trace their roots to the British colonialists’ recruitment of hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Indians as mine and plantation workers between the early-19^th century and the 1930s. Most Malays have maintained their rural lifestyle, while the entrepreneurial Chinese have achieved greater wealth and economic dominance. In order to eradicate Malay poverty, the Malaysian Government in 1971 adopted policies that gave preference to the bumiputera in public university admissions, government jobs and contracts, and property ownership. Affirmative action continues to benefit well-off urban bumiputera but has done little to alleviate poverty for their more numerous rural counterparts. The policies have pushed ethnic Chinese and Indians to study at private or foreign universities (many do not return) and have created and sustained one of the world’s largest civil services, which is 85-90% Malay. 

Age structure
0-14 years: 22.46% (male 3,952,311/female 3,734,607)
15-64 years: 69.42% (male 12,198,930/female 11,556,399)
65 years and over: 8.12% (2023 est.) (male 1,345,767/female 1,431,961)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 43.3
Youth dependency ratio: 32.9
Elderly dependency ratio: 10.4
Potential support ratio: 9.6 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 31.4 years (2023 est.)
Male: 31.3 years
Female: 31.5 years

Population growth rate: 1.01% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 14.4 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 5.7 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: a highly uneven distribution with over 80% of the population residing on the Malay Peninsula

Urbanization
Urban population: 78.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 1.87% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 8.622 million KUALA LUMPUR (capital), 1.086 million Johor Bahru, 857,000 Ipoh (2023)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires; endangered species; coastal reclamation damaging mangroves and turtle nesting sites
International agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 21.52 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 248.29 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 51.51 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 21 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 6.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 6.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.4 years (2023 est.)
Male: 74.8 years
Female: 78.1 years

Total fertility rate: 1.74 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 52.2% (2014)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 99.4% of population
Improved rural: 90.7% of population
Improved total: 97.5% of population
Unimproved urban: 0.6% of population
Unimproved rural: 9.3% of population
Unimproved total: 2.5% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 4.1% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 1.54 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 1.9 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
Water contact diseases: leptospirosis

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 15.6% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 0.64 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 22.5% (2020 est.)
Male: 43.8% (2020 est.)
Female: 1.1% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 14.1% (2019)

Education expenditures: 3.9% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 95%
Male: 96.2%
Female: 93.6% (2019)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 14 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 15.6% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 14.2%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 17.8%


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Malaysia
Local long form: none
Local short form: Malaysia
Former: British Malaya, Malayan Union, Federation of Malaya
Etymology: the name means "Land of the Malays"

Government type: federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Note: all Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers (commonly referred to as sultans) except Melaka (Malacca) and Pulau Pinang (Penang); those two states along with Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia have governors appointed by government; powers of state governments are limited by the federal constitution; under terms of federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., right to maintain their own immigration controls)

Capital
Name: Kuala Lumpur; note - nearby Putrajaya is referred to as a federal government administrative center but not the capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur
Geographic coordinates: 3 10 N, 101 42 E
Time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: the Malay word for "river junction or estuary" is kuala and lumpur means "mud"; together the words render the meaning of "muddy confluence"

Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu; and 1 federal territory (Wilayah Persekutuan) with 3 components, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya

Dependent areas

Independence: 31 August 1957 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day (or Merdeka Day), 31 August (1957) (independence of Malaya); Malaysia Day, 16 September (1963) (formation of Malaysia)

Constitution
History: previous 1948; latest drafted 21 February 1957, effective 27 August 1957
Amendments: proposed as a bill by Parliament; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Parliament membership in the bill’s second and third readings; a number of constitutional sections are excluded from amendment or repeal; amended many times, last in 2019

Legal system: mixed legal system of English common law, Islamic law (sharia), and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Court at request of supreme head of the federation

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Malaysia
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 out 12 years preceding application

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (2019)

Executive branch
Chief of state: King Sultan ABDULLAH Sultan Ahmad Shah (since 24 January 2019); note - King MUHAMMAD V (formerly known as TUANKU Muhammad FARIS Petra) (selected on 14 October 2016; installed on 13 December 2016) resigned on 6 January 2019; the position of the king is primarily ceremonial, but he is the final arbiter on the appointment of the prime minister
Head of government: Prime Minister ANWAR Ibrahim (since 25 November 2022)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among members of Parliament with the consent of the king
Elections/appointments: king elected by and from the hereditary rulers of 9 states for a 5-year term; election is on a rotational basis among rulers of the 9 states; election last held on 24 January 2019 (next to be held in January 2024); prime minister designated from among members of the House of Representatives; following legislative elections, the leader who commands support of the majority of members in the House becomes prime minister

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Federal Court (consists of the chief justice, president of the Court of Appeal, chief justice of the High Court of Malaya, chief judge of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak, 8 judges, and 1 "additional" judge); note - Malaysia has a dual judicial hierarchy of civil and religious (sharia) courts
Judge selection and term of office: Federal Court justices appointed by the monarch on advice of the prime minister; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 66 with the possibility of a single 6-month extension
Subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; High Court; Sessions Court; Magistrates' Court

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB, APEC, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, C, CICA (observer), CP, D-8, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed NAZRI Bin Abdul Aziz (since 19 April 2023)
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 email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Manu BHALLA (since August 2023) 
From the us embassy: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50,400 Kuala Lumpur
From the us mailing address: 4,210 Kuala Lumpur, Washington DC 20,521-4,210
From the us telephone: [60] (3) 2,168-5,000
From the us FAX: [60] (3) 2,142-2,207
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: 14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow 14-pointed star; the flag is often referred to as Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory); the 14 stripes stand for the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal government; the 14 points on the star represent the unity between these entities; the crescent is a traditional symbol of Islam; blue symbolizes the unity of the Malay people and yellow is the royal color of Malay rulers
Note: the design is based on the flag of the US

National symbols: tiger, hibiscus; national colors: gold, black

National anthem
Name: "Negaraku" (My Country)
Lyrics/music: collective, led by Tunku ABDUL RAHMAN/Pierre Jean DE BERANGER
Note: adopted 1957; full version only performed in the presence of the king; the tune, which was adopted from a popular French melody titled "La Rosalie," was originally the anthem of Perak, one of Malaysia's 13 states

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 4 (2 cultural, 2 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: upper middle-income Southeast Asian economy; implementing key anticorruption policies; major electronics, oil, and chemicals exporter; trade sector employs over 40% of jobs; key economic equity initiative; high labor productivity

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 55.3% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 12.2% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 25.3% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.3% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 71.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -64.4% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 8.8% (2017 est.)
Industry: 37.6% (2017 est.)
Services: 53.6% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: oil palm fruit, rice, poultry, eggs, vegetables, rubber, coconuts, bananas, pineapples, pork

Industries: Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, petroleum and natural gas, light manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, electronics and semiconductors, timber processing; Sabah - logging, petroleum and natural gas production;Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum and natural gas production, logging

Industrial production growth rate: 5.65% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 16.74 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 15.6% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 14.2%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 17.8%

Population below poverty line: 5.6% (2018 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 41.1 (2015 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 1.8%
Highest 10%: 34.7% (2009 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $77.736 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $85.851 billion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 10.89% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:
Note: this figure is based on the amount of federal government debt, RM501.6 billion ($167.2 billion) in 2012; this includes Malaysian Treasury bills and other government securities, as well as loans raised externally and bonds and notes issued overseas; this figure excludes debt issued by non-financial public enterprises and guaranteed by the federal government, which was an additional $47.7 billion in 2012

Revenue
From forest resources: 1.57% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Note: approximately 30% of goods are price-controlled

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:
Partners: Singapore 15%, China 14%, US 13%, Hong Kong 6%, Japan 6% (2021)
Commodities: integrated circuits, refined petroleum, palm oil, rubber apparel, natural gas, semiconductors (2021)

Imports:
Partners: China 29%, Singapore 11%, Japan 6%, US 6%, Taiwan 6% (2021)
Commodities: integrated circuits, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, coal, gold, semiconductors (2021)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 34.959 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 150.062 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 669 million kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 19 million kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 12.124 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 87.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 10.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 2.977 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 35.268 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 17,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 37.295 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 226 million metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 593,800 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 718,600 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 303,600 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 182,300 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 3.6 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 528,300 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 208,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 304,600 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 74,985,350,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Consumption: 39,586,915,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Exports: 34,197,548,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Imports: 4,008,073,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 1,189,306,000,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 254.764 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 81.726 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 94.934 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 78.104 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 123.755 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 8,452,900 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 25 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 47,201,700 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 141 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: state-owned TV broadcaster operates 2 TV networks with relays throughout the country, and the leading private commercial media group operates 4 TV stations with numerous relays throughout the country; satellite TV subscription service is available; state-owned radio broadcaster operates multiple national networks, as well as regional and local stations; many private commercial radio broadcasters and some subscription satellite radio services are available; about 55 radio stations overall (2019)

Internet
Country code: .my
Users total: 32.98 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 97% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 3,358,800 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 10 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: Malaysian Armed Forces (Angkatan Tentera Malaysia, ATM): Malaysian Army (Tentera Darat Malaysia), Royal Malaysian Navy (Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia, TLDM), Royal Malaysian Air Force (Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia, TUDM) (2023)
Note 1: Malaysia created a National Special Operations Force in 2016 for combating terrorism threats; the force is comprised of personnel from the ATM, the PRMD, and the MMEA

Military service age and obligation: 17 years 6 months of age for voluntary military service for men and women (younger with parental consent and proof of age); maximum age of 27 to enlist; mandatory retirement age 60; no conscription (2023)
Note: in 2020, the military announced a goal of having 10% of the active force comprised of women

Space program
Overview: has a growing space program focused on the areas of remote sensing (RS), communication, and navigational services to support domestic economic sectors; also seeks to promote a domestic space industry; acquires, manufactures, and operates satellites; conducts research in RS capabilities and space sciences such as astronomy, atmospherics, space environment, and weather; has an astronaut training exchange program with Russia and has relations with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of the European Space Agency and some of its individual member states, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the UK, and the US (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jemaah Islamiyah (JI); Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in terrorist organizations


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 13 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 270
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 60,481,772 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1,404,410,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 9M

Airports: 114 (2021)
With paved runways: 39
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 75
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 4 (2021)

Pipelines: 354 km condensate, 6,439 km gas, 155 km liquid petroleum gas, 1,937 km oil, 43 km oil/gas/water, 114 km refined products, 26 km water (2013)

Railways
Total: 1,851 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 59 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (59 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 1,792 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge (339 km electrified)

Roadways
Total: 144,403 km (2010) (excludes local roads)
Paved: 116,169 km (2010) (includes 1,821 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 28,234 km (2010)

Waterways: 7,200 km (2011) (Peninsular Malaysia 3,200 km; Sabah 1,500 km; Sarawak 2,500 km)

Merchant marine
Total: 1,790 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 14, container ship 33, general cargo 181, oil tanker 156, other 1,406

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Bintulu, Johor Bahru, George Town (Penang), Pelabuhan Klang (Port Klang), Tanjung Pelepas
Container ports teus: Port Kelang (Port Klang) (13,724,460), Tanjung Pelepas (11,200,000) (2021)
Lng terminals export: Bintulu (Sarawak)
Lng terminals import: Sungei Udang


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Disputes international: piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 157,731 (Burma) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2023)
Stateless persons: 113,930 (2022); note - Malaysia's stateless population consists of Rohingya refugees from Burma, ethnic Indians, and the children of Filipino and Indonesian illegal migrants; Burma stripped the Rohingya of their nationality in 1982; Filipino and Indonesian children who have not been registered for birth certificates by their parents or who received birth certificates stamped "foreigner" are not eligible to attend government schools; these children are vulnerable to statelessness should they not be able to apply to their parents' country of origin for passports

Illicit drugs: not a source country for illicit drugs bound for the United States but is a significant transit country for drugs destined for Australia;  drugs trafficked to Malaysia include crystal methamphetamine and lesser quantities of MDMA (ecstasy), cannabis, heroin, and ketamine; significant number of the population abuse drugs especially methamphetamine