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

Geographic coordinates: 2 30 N, 112 30 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 329,750 sq km
land: 328,550 sq km
water: 1,200 sq km

Area—comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries:
total: 2,669 km
border countries: 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:
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

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
highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m

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

Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 12%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 68%
other: 17% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 2,941 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding, landslides

Environment—current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

Population: 21,376,066 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 35% (male 3,879,012; female 3,680,895)
15-64 years: 61% (male 6,478,910; female 6,482,909)
65 years and over: 4% (male 369,639; female 484,701) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.08% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 26.05 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 5.29 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
note: does not include illegal immigrants—large numbers from Indonesia and smaller numbers from the Philippines, Bangladesh, Burma, China, and India

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 21.68 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.67 years
male: 67.62 years
female: 73.9 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.35 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Malaysian(s)
adjective: Malaysian

Ethnic groups: Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 26%, Indian 7%, others 9%

Religions: Islam, Buddhism, Daoism, Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism; note—in addition, Shamanism is practiced on East Malaysia

Languages: Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malalalam, Panjabi, Thai; note—in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest of which are Iban and Kadazan

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.5%
male: 89.1%
female: 78.1% (1995 est.)

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Malaysia
former: Malayan Union

Data code: MY

Government type: 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 (king) and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; Peninsular Malaysian states—hereditary rulers in all but Melaka, Penang, Sabah, and Sarawak, where governors are appointed by the Malaysian Government; powers of state governments are limited by the federal constitution; under terms of the federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., the right to maintain their own immigration controls); Sabah—holds 20 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government; Sarawak—holds 27 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government

Capital: Kuala Lumpur

Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular—negeri) and 2 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular—wilayah persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan*, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan*
note: the city of Kuala Lumpur is located within the federal territory of Wilayah Persekutuan; the terms therefore are not interchangeable

Independence: 31 August 1957 (from UK)

National holiday: National 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

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Paramount Ruler TUANKU JA'AFAR ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman (since 26 April 1994) and Deputy Paramount Ruler Sultan TUNKU SALAHUDDIN Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Hisammuddin Alam Shah (since 26 April 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Dr. MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (since 16 July 1981); Deputy Prime Minister ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi (since 8 January 1999)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament with consent of the paramount ruler
elections: paramount ruler and deputy paramount ruler elected by and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states for five-year terms; election last held 4 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); 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 JA'AFAR ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman elected paramount ruler; Sultan TUNKU SALAHUDDIN Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Hisammuddin Alam Shah elected deputy paramount ruler

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of nonelected Senate or Dewan Negara (69 seats; 43 appointed by the paramount ruler, 26 appointed by the state legislatures) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (192 seats; members elected by popular vote directly weighted toward the rural Malay population to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives—last held 24-25 April 1995 (next to be held by April 2000)
election results: House of Representatives—percent of vote by party—National Front 63%, other 37%; seats by party—National Front 162, DAP 9, PBS 8, PAS 7, Spirit of '46 6; note—subsequent to the election there was a change in the distribution of seats, the current distribution is—National Front 168, DAP 8, PAS 8, PBS 5, independents 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister

Political parties and leaders:
Peninsular Malaysia: National Front (a confederation of 13 political parties dominated by United Malays National Organization or UMNO [MAHATHIR bin Mohamad]); Malaysian Chinese Association or MCA [LING Liong Sik]; Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia [LIM Keng Yaik]; Malaysian Indian Congress or MIC [S. Samy VELLU]; major opposition parties are Parti Islam SeMalaysia or PAS [Ustaz Fadzil Mohamed NOOR] and the Democratic Action Party or DAP [LIM Kit Siang]
Sabah: National Front, dominated by the UMNO [leader NA]; Sabah Progressive Party or SAPP [Datuk YONG Teck Lee]; Parti Democratic Sabah or PDS [Bernard DOMPOK]; Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah or PBRS [Datuk Joseph KURUP]; Parti Akar [Datuk PANDIKAR Amin Mulia]
Sarawak: National Front, composed of the Party Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu or PBB [Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud]; Sarawak United People's Party or SUPP [Datuk Dr. George CHAN Hong Nam]; Sarawak National Party or SNAP [Datuk Amar James WONG]; Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak or PBDS [Datuk Leo MOGGIE]; major opposition party is Democratic Action Party or DAP [LIM Kit Siang]
note: subsequent to the election, the following parties were dissolved—Spirit of '46 or Semangat '46 [Tengku Tan Sri RAZALEIGH, president] and Sabah United Party (Parti Bersatu Sabah) or PBS [Datuk Seri Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan]

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIL, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Dato' GHAZZALI Sheikh Abdul Khalid
chancery: 2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 328-2700
FAX: [1] (202) 483-7661
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador B. Lynn PASCOE
embassy: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur
mailing address: P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur; American Embassy Kuala Lumpur, APO AP 96535-8152
telephone: [60] (3) 248-9011
FAX: [60] (3) 242-2207

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 fourteen-pointed star; the crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the US

Economy—overview: After a decade of 8% average GDP growth, the Malaysian economy—severely hit by the regional financial crisis—declined 7% in 1998. Malaysia will likely remain in recession for the first half of 1999; official statistics continue to show anemic exports, and some private financial analysts forecast a further drop in GDP of 1% in 1999. Prime Minister MAHATHIR has imposed capital controls to protect the local currency while cutting interest rates to stimulate the economy. Kuala Lumpur also announced an expansionary budget for 1999 to combat rising unemployment. Malaysia continues to seek funding from domestic and international sources to help finance its budget deficit and recapitalize its weakened banking sector.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$215.4 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: -7% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$10,300 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 13%
industry: 46%
services: 41% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: 15.5% (1989 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 37.9% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.3% (1998)

Labor force: 8.398 million (1996 est.)

Labor force—by occupation: manufacturing 25%, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries 21%, local trade and tourism 17%, services 12%, government 11%, construction 8% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 2.6% (1996 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $22.6 billion
expenditures: $22 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.3 billion (1996 est.)

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: 14.4% (1995)

Electricity—production: 48 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 83.33%
hydro: 16.67%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 47.977 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 174 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 151 million kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: Peninsular Malaysia—rubber, palm oil, rice; Sabah—subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak—rubber, pepper; timber

Exports: $74.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports—commodities: electronic equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, palm oil, wood and wood products, rubber, textiles

Exports—partners: US 21%, Singapore 20%, Japan 12%, Hong Kong 5%, UK 4%, Thailand 4%, Germany 3% (1995)

Imports: $59.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports—commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, food

Imports—partners: Japan 27%, US 16%, Singapore 12%, Taiwan 5%, Germany 4%, South Korea 4% (1995)

Debt—external: $39.8 billion (1998)

Economic aid—recipient: $125 million (1995)

Currency: 1 ringgit (M$) = 100 sen

Exchange rates: ringgits (M$) per US$1—3.8000 (January 1999), 3.9244 (1998), 2.8133 (1997), 2.5159 (1996), 2.5044 (1995), 2.6243 (1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 2,550,957 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: international service good
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: submarine cables to India, Hong Kong and Singapore; satellite earth stations—2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 28, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 8.08 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 27 (of which 26 are government-owned and one is independent and has 15 high-power repeater stations to relay its programs) (1997)

Televisions: 2 million (1993 est.)

Railways:
total: 1,798 km
narrow gauge: 1,798 km 1.000-m gauge (148 km electrified) (1998 est.)

Highways:
total: 94,500 km
paved: 70,970 km (including 580 km of expressways)
unpaved: 23,530 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 7,296 km (Peninsular Malaysia 3,209 km, Sabah 1,569 km, Sarawak 2,518 km)

Pipelines: crude oil 1,307 km; natural gas 379 km

Ports and harbors: Bintulu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuching, Kudat, Labuan, Lahad Datu, Lumut, Miri, Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Dickson, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Sibu, Tanjung Berhala, Tanjung Kidurong, Tawau

Merchant marine:
total: 378 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,059,272 GRT/7,428,623 DWT
ships by type: bulk 62, cargo 128, chemical tanker 30, container 58, liquefied gas tanker 19, livestock carrier 1, oil tanker 61, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 7 (1998 est.)

Airports: 115 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 32
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 6 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 83
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 74 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)

Military branches: Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Police Force, Marine Police, Sarawak Border Scouts

Military manpower—military age: 21 years of age

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 5,526,555 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 3,349,066 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 183,928 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $2.1 billion (1998)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 2.1% (1998)

Disputes—international: involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; Philippines have not fully revoked claim to Sabah State; two islands in dispute with Singapore; two islands in dispute with Indonesia

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

Source: 1999 CIA World Factbook