The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency (ebook reader 8 inch .txt) 📕

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
Malaysia

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 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:

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 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: 5.46% permanent crops: 17.54% other: 77% (2005)

Irrigated land:

3,650 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

580 cu km (1999)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 9.02 cu km/yr (17%/21%/62%) per capita: 356 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

flooding, landslides, forest fires

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

Geography - note:

strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea

People
Malaysia

Population:

25,274,132 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 31.8% (male 4,135,013/female 3,898,761) 15-64 years: 63.3% (male 8,026,755/female 7,965,332) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 548,970/female 699,302) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 24.6 years male: 24 years female: 25.3 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.742% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

22.44 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA note: does not reflect net flow of an unknown number of illegal immigrants from other countries in the region (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 16.39 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 73.03 years male: 70.32 years female: 75.94 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.98 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.4% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

52,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

2,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)

Nationality:

noun: Malaysian(s) adjective: Malaysian

Ethnic groups:

Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% (2004 est.)

Religions:

Muslim 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%, other or unknown 1.5%, none 0.8% (2000 census)

Languages:

Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.7% male: 92% female: 85.4% (2000 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 13 years male: 12 years female: 13 years (2005)

Education expenditures:

6.2% of GDP (2004)

Government
Malaysia

Country name:

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Malaysia local long form: none local short form: Malaysia former: Federation of Malaya

Government type:

constitutional monarchy note: nominally headed by paramount ruler and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; all Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers except Melaka 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 federal constitution; under terms of federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., right to maintain their own immigration controls); Sabah holds 25 seats in House of Representatives; Sarawak has 31 seats

Capital:

name: Kuala Lumpur geographic coordinates: 3 10 N, 101 42 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Putrajaya is referred to as administrative center not 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 one federal territory (wilayah persekutuan) with three components, city of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya

Independence:

31 August 1957 (from UK)

National holiday:

Independence Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August (1957)

Constitution:

31 August 1957 (amended many times, latest in 2007)

Legal system:

based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; Islamic law is applied to Muslims in matters of family law and religion; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

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 election results: Sultan MIZAN Zainal Abidin elected paramount ruler note: position of paramount ruler is primarily ceremonial; in practice, selection is based on principle of rotation among rulers of states

Legislative branch:

bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of Senate or Dewan Negara (70 seats; 44 appointed by paramount ruler, 26 elected by 13 state legislatures; to serve three-year terms with limit of two terms) and House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (222 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held on 8 March 2008 (next to be held by March 2013) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - BN coalition 50.3%, opposition parties 46.8%, others 2.9%; seats - BN coalition 140, opposition parties 82

Judicial branch:

Civil Courts include Federal Court, Court of Appeal, High Court of Malaya on peninsula Malaysia, and High Court of Sabah and Sarawak in states of Borneo (judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister); Sharia Courts include Sharia Appeal Court, Sharia High Court, and Sharia Subordinate Courts at state-level and deal with religious and family matters such as custody, divorce, and inheritance, only for Muslims; decisions of Sharia courts cannot be appealed to civil courts

Political parties and leaders:

National Front (Barisan Nasional) or BN (ruling coalition) consists
of the following parties: Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Party or PGRM [KOH
Tsu Koon - acting]; Liberal Democratic Party (Parti Liberal
Demokratik - Sabah) or LDP [LIEW Vui Keong]; Malaysian Chinese
Association (Persatuan China Malaysia) or MCA [ONG Ka Ting];
Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongres India Malaysia) or MIC [S. Samy
VELLU]; Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah or PBRS [Joseph KURUP]; Parti
Bersatu Sabah or PBS [Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan]; Parti Pesaka
Bumiputera Bersatu or PBB [Abdul TAIB Mahmud]; Parti Rakyat Sarawak
or PRS [James MASING]; Sabah Progressive Party (Parti Progresif
Sabah) or SAPP [YONG Teck Lee]; Sarawak United People's Party (Parti
Bersatu Rakyat Sarawak) or SUPP [George CHAN Hong Nam]; United
Malays National Organization or UMNO [ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi];
United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organization (Pertubuhan
Pasko Momogun Kadazan Dusun Bersatu) or UPKO [Bernard DOMPOK];
People's Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Penduduk Malaysia) or
PPP [M.Kayveas]; Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party or SPDP
[William MAWAN])
People's Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat) or PR (opposition coalition)
consists of the following parties:: Democratic Action Party (Parti
Tindakan Demokratik) or DAP [KARPAL Singh]; Islamic Party of
Malaysia (Parti Islam se Malaysia) or PAS [Abdul HADI Awang];
People's Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) or PKR [WAN AZIZAH
Wan Ismael]; Sarawak National Party or SNAP [Edwin DUNDANG]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Bersih (electoral reform); Sharia High Court other: religious groups; women's groups; youth groups

International organization participation:

ADB, APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO,
MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ilango KARUPPANNAN chancery: 3516 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 572-9700 FAX: [1] (202) 572-9882 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador James R. KEITH embassy: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur mailing address: US Embassy Kuala Lumpur, APO AP 96535-8152 telephone: [60] (3) 2168-5000 FAX: [60] (3) 2142-2207

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

Economy
Malaysia

Economy - overview:

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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$361.2 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$186.5 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

6.3%