Country Profiles - Malaysia

MALAYSIA

Geography: Malaysia is on the Malay Peninsula in southeast Asia. The nation also includes Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo to the east. Its area slightly exceeds that of New Mexico.
Most of Malaysia is covered by forest, with a mountain range running the length of the peninsula. Extensive forests provide ebony, sandalwood, teak, and other wood.
Government: Constitutional monarchy.
History: The ancestors of the people that now inhabit the Malaysian peninsula first migrated to the area between 2500 and 1500 B.C. Those living in the coastal regions had early contact with the Chinese and Indians; seafaring traders from India brought with them Hinduism, which was blended with the local animist beliefs. As Muslims conquered India, they spread the religion of Islam to Malaysia. In the 15th century, Islam acquired a firm hold on the region when the Hindu ruler of the powerful city-state of Malacca, Parameswara Dewa Shah, converted to Islam.
British and Dutch interest in the region grew in the 1800s, with the British East India Company's establishment of a trading settlement on the island of Singapore. Trade soared, with Singapore's population growing from only 5,000 in 1820 to nearly 100,000 in just 50 years. In the 1880s, Britain formally established protectorates in Malaysia. At about the same time, rubber trees were introduced from Brazil. With the mass production of automobiles, rubber became a valuable export, and laborers were brought in from India to work the rubber plantations.

Map of Malaysia

Head of State: Almu'tasimu Billahi Muhibbuddin Tuanku Alhaj Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah (2011)

Prime Minister: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (2009)

Land area: 126,853 sq mi (328,549 sq km); total area: 127,316 sq mi (329,750 sq km)

Population (2014 est.): 30,073,353 (growth rate: 1.47%); birth rate: 20.06/1000; infant mortality rate: 13.69/1000; life expectancy: 74.52

Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Kuala Lumpur, 1.556 million

Other large cities: Klang 1.19 million; Johor Bahru 1.045 million (2011)

Monetary unit: Ringgit

Languages: Bahasa Melayu (Malay, official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; several indigenous languages (including Iban, Kadazan) in East Malaysia

Ethnicity/race: Malay 50.1%, Chinese 22.6%, indigenous 11.8%, Indian 6.7%, other 0.7%, non-citizens 8.2% (2010 est.)

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.)

National Holiday: Independence Day/Malaysia Day, August 31

Literacy rate: 93.1% (2010 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $525 billion; per capita $17,500. Real growth rate: 4.7%. Inflation: 2.2%. Unemployment: 3.1%. Arable land: 5.44%. Agriculture: Peninsular Malaysia—rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah—subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak—rubber, pepper, timber. Labor force: 13.19 million (2013 est.); agriculture 11.1%, industry 36%, services 53.5%. Industries: Peninsular Malaysia—rubber and oil-palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging, timber processing; Sabah—logging, petroleum production; Sarawak—agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging. Natural resources: tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite. Exports: $230.7 billion (2013 est.): electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals. Imports: $192.9.4 billion (2013 est.): electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals. Major trading partners: U.S., Singapore, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, India, Australia (2012).

Member of Commonwealth of Nations

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 4.589 million (2012); mobile cellular: 41.325 million (2012). 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 (2012). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 422,470 (2012). Internet users: 15.355 million (2009).

Transportation: Railways: total: 1,849 km (2010). Roadways: total: 144,403 km; paved: 116,169 km (including 1,821 km of expressways); unpaved: 28,234 km (2004). Waterways: 7,200 km (Peninsular Malaysia 3,200 km, Sabah 1,500 km, Sarawak 2,500 km). Ports and harbors: Bintulu, Johor Bahru, George Town (Penang), Port Kelang (Port Klang), Tanjung Pelepas. Airports: 114 (2013).

International disputes:while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Malaysia was not party to the March 2005 joint accord among the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam on conducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits; in 2008, ICJ awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh/Horsburgh Island) to Singapore, and Middle Rocks to Malaysia, but did not rule on maritime regimes, boundaries, or disposition of South Ledge; land and maritime negotiations with Indonesia are ongoing, and disputed areas include the controversial Tanjung Datu and Camar Wulan border area in Borneo and the maritime boundary in the Ambalat oil block in the Celebes Sea; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo; Per Letters of Exchange signed in 2009, Malaysia in 2010 ceded two hydrocarbon concession blocks to Brunei in exchange for Brunei's sultan dropping claims to the Limbang corridor, which divides Brunei; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait.

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