GEOGRAPHY
Location: Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and the 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 references: Southeast Asia
Area:
- Total: 330,803 sq km
- Land: 328,657 sq km
- Water: 2,146 sq km
Land boundaries:
- Total: 2,742 km
- Border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 579 km
Coastline: 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km)
Climate: Tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (November to March) monsoons
Terrain: Coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Elevation extremes:
- Lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
- Highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,095 m
Natural resources: Tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite
PEOPLE
Population: 34.0 million (2023 est.)
Age structure:
- 0-14 years: 24.8% (male 4,260,000/female 4,000,000)
- 15-24 years: 15.6% (male 2,680,000/female 2,600,000)
- 25-54 years: 42.0% (male 7,200,000/female 7,100,000)
- 55-64 years: 9.3% (male 1,590,000/female 1,550,000)
- 65 years and over: 8.3% (male 1,420,000/female 1,420,000) (2023 est.)
Birth rate: 14.1 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate: 5.4 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Nationality:
- Noun: Malaysian(s)
- Adjective: Malaysian
Ethnic groups: Bumiputera 69.6% (Malays and indigenous peoples), Chinese 22.6%, Indian 6.9%, other 1.0% (2023 est.)
Religions: Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Daoist, Sikh; note – in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia
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
GOVERNMENT
Country name:
- Conventional long form: none
- Conventional short form: Malaysia
- Former: Federation of Malaysia
Government type: Constitutional monarchy
Capital: Kuala Lumpur
- Note: Putrajaya is referred to as the administrative center, not the 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 three federal territories (wilayah persekutuan): Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya
Independence: 31 August 1957 (from the UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 31 August (1957)
Legal system: Based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Court at the request of the supreme head of the federation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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
ECONOMY
GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.08 trillion (2023 est.)
GDP – real growth rate: 5.0% (2022 est.)
GDP – per capita: $29,300 (2023 est.)
GDP – composition by sector:
- Agriculture: 7.3% (2023 est.)
- Industry: 36.1% (2023 est.)
- Services: 56.6% (2023 est.)
Budget:
- Revenues: $70.5 billion (2023 est.)
- Expenditures: $80.2 billion (2023 est.)
Public debt: 60.7% of GDP (2023 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
Exports: $293.9 billion (2023 est.)
Exports – commodities: Integrated circuits, refined petroleum, liquefied natural gas, semiconductors, palm oil (2023 est.)
Exports – partners: China 15%, Singapore 13%, United States 11%, Hong Kong 7%, Japan 6%, Thailand 5% (2023 est.)
Imports: $259.5 billion (2023 est.)
Imports – commodities: Integrated circuits, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, broadcasting equipment, coal (2023 est.)
Imports – partners: China 23%, Singapore 13%, United States 7%, Japan 7%, Taiwan 6%, Thailand 5% (2023 est.)
Currency code: MYR
Fiscal year: Calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Telephone system:
- General assessment: One of the most advanced telecom networks in the developing world; strong commitment to developing a technological society; Malaysia is promoting itself as an information tech hub in the Asian region; closing the urban-rural divide; 4G and 5G networks with strong competition, mobile dominance over fixed-broadband; government development of a five-year fiber and connectivity plan; some of Malaysia’s key exports are integrated circuits and broadcasting equipment to North America and China; importer of integrated circuits from Singapore and China (2023)
- Domestic: Fixed-line 18 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity exceeds 144 per 100 persons; domestic satellite system with 2 earth stations (2023)
- International: Country code – 60; landing points for multiple submarine cables providing connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia, and Europe; satellite earth stations – 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean, 1 Pacific Ocean); launch of Kacific-1 satellite in 2019 (2023)
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 (2023)
Internet country code: .my
Internet users:
- Total: 29,780,000
- Percent of population: 87.5% (2023 est.)
TRANSPORTATION
Railways:
- Total: 1,941 km (2023)
- Standard gauge: 59 km 1.435-m gauge (59 km electrified) (2023)
- Narrow gauge: 1,882 km 1.000-m gauge (365 km electrified) (2023)
Roadways:
- Total: 238,000 km (2023)
- Paved: 160,000 km (includes 2,000 km of expressways) (2023)
- Unpaved: 78,000 km (2023)
Waterways: 7,200 km (Peninsular Malaysia 3,200 km; Sabah 1,500 km; Sarawak 2,500 km) (2023)
Airports:
- Total: 98 (2023) – 38 with paved runways
Ports and terminals:
- Major seaport(s): Bintulu, Johor Bahru, George Town (Penang), Port Klang, Tanjung Pelepas
- Container port(s) (TEUs):
- Port Klang (14,540,000) (2023 est.)
- Tanjung Pelepas (10,300,000) (2023 est.)
- LNG terminal(s) (export): Bintulu (Sarawak)
- LNG terminal(s) (import): Sungai Udang
Information above retrieved from: