World Facts Index > Malaysia > Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Malacca, Penang, Petaling Jaya
 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 a
Communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims
to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965. During the
22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (1981-2003), Malaysia was
successful in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw
materials to expansion in manufacturing, services, and tourism.
Geography of Malaysia
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Location:
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Southeastern Asia,
peninsula and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering
Indonesia and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam |
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Coordinates:
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2 30 N, 112 30 E |
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Area:
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total: 329,750 sq km
water: 1,200 sq km
land: 328,550 sq km |
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Area comparative:
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slightly larger than New
Mexico |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,669 km
border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506
km |
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Coastline:
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4,675 km (Peninsular
Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km) |
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Maritime claims:
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continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the
South China Sea
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Climate:
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tropical; annual southwest
(April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons |
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Terrain:
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coastal plains rising to
hills and mountains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Indian
Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m |
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Natural resources:
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tin, petroleum, timber,
copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite |
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Natural hazards:
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flooding, landslides,
forest fires |
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Environment current issues:
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air pollution from
industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage;
deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires |
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Geography - note:
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strategic location along
Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea
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Population of Malaysia
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Population:
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25,274,132 (July 2008 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 32.6% (male 4,093,859/female 3,862,730)
15-64 years: 62.6% (male 7,660,680/female 7,613,537)
65 years and over: 4.7% (male 509,260/female 645,792) |
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Median age:
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24.1 years |
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Growth rate:
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1.78% |
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Infant mortality:
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17.16 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 72.5 years
male: 69.8 years
female: 75.38 years |
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Fertility rate:
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3.04 children born/woman |
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Nationality:
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noun: Malaysian(s)
adjective: Malaysian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, Indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%,
others 7.8% |
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Religions:
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Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note -
in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia |
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Languages:
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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 |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 88.9%
male: 92.4%
female: 85.4%
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Government
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Country name:
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former: Federation of Malaysia |
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Government type:
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constitutional monarchy
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 the
Federation on 9 August 1965); nominally headed by the paramount ruler and a bicameral
Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; all of the
Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers except Melaka and Penang; Sabah and
Sarawak in East Malaysia have governors appointed by the Malaysian Government; powers of
state governments are limited by the federal constitution; under the terms of federation,
Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., the 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 |
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Capital:
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Kuala Lumpur
note: Putrajaya is referred to as the administrative capital |
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Administrative divisions:
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13 states (negeri-negeri, singular -
negeri) and 3 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular - wilayah
persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan*, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak,
Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Putrajaya*, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah
Persekutuan*
note: the city of Kuala Lumpur is within the federal territory of Wilayah
Persekutuan; the terms therefore are not interchangeable; |
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Independence:
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31 August 1957 (from UK) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August
(1957) |
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Constitution:
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31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963 |
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Legal system:
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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 |
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Suffrage:
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21 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: Paramount Ruler Sultan MIZAN
Zainal Abidin (since 13 December 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi (since 31 October
2003); Deputy Prime Minister Mohamed NAJIB bin Abdul 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 on 3 November 2006 (next to
be held in 2011); 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. |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of the Senate or
Dewan Negara (70 seats; 44 appointed by the paramount ruler, 26 appointed by the state
legislatures) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (219 seats; members elected
by popular vote to serve five-year terms) |
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Judicial branch:
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Federal Court (judges appointed by the
paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister) |
Economy
Malaysia, a middle-income country, has transformed itself since the 1970s
from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Since
coming to office in 2003, Prime Minister ABDULLAH has tried to move the
economy farther up the value-added production chain by attracting investments
in high technology industries, medical technology, and pharmaceuticals. The
Government of Malaysia is continuing efforts to boost domestic demand to wean
the economy off of its dependence on exports. Nevertheless, exports -
particularly of electronics - remain a significant driver of the economy. As
an oil and gas exporter, Malaysia has profited from higher world energy
prices, although the rising cost of domestic gasoline and diesel fuel forced
Kuala Lumpur to reduce government subsidies. Malaysia "unpegged" the
ringgit from the US dollar in 2005 and the currency appreciated 6% per year
against the dollar in 2006-07. Although this has helped to hold down the price
of imports, inflationary pressures began to build in 2007. Healthy foreign
exchange reserves and a small external debt greatly reduce the risk that
Malaysia will experience a financial crisis over the near term similar to the
one in 1997. The government presented its five-year national development
agenda in April 2006 through the Ninth Malaysia Plan, a comprehensive
blueprint for the allocation of the national budget from 2006-10. With
national elections expected within the year, ABDULLAH has unveiled a series of
ambitious development schemes for several regions that have had trouble
attracting business investment. Real GDP growth has averaged about 6% per year
under ABDULLAH, but regions outside of Kuala Lumpur and the manufacturing hub
Penang have not fared as well.
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GDP:
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$361.2 billion (2007 est.) |
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GDP growth rate:
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5.3% |
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GDP per capita:
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$12,100 |
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GDP composition by sector:
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agriculture: 8.4%
industry: 48%
services: 43.6% |
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Inflation rate:
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3% |
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Labor force:
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10.67 million |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 14.5%, industry 36%, services
49.5% |
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Unemployment:
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3.6% |
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Electricity production by source:
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fossil fuel: 89.5%
hydro: 10.5%
other: 0% |
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Industries:
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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 |
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Agriculture:
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Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil,
cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber,
pepper; timber |
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Exports:
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electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas,
wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals |
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Export partners:
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US 19.5%, Singapore 15.4%, China 11.3%, Japan 8.3%,
Thailand 4.6%, Hong Kong 4.1% |
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Imports:
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electronics, machinery, petroleum products,
plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals |
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Import partners:
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Singapore 26.4%, Japan 11%, China 9.2%, US 9.1%, Taiwan
5.4%, Thailand 4.9%, South Korea 4.9%, Indonesia 4.2% |
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Currency:
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ringgit (MYR) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |