Country name:

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

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 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

Capital:

Kuala Lumpur
note: Putrajaya is referred to as the administrative capital

Administrative divisions:

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;

National holiday:

Independence Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August (1957)

Suffrage:

21 years of age; universal

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
water: 1,200 sq km
land: 328,550 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 - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):

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: 5.54%
other: 76.85% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 17.61%

GDP:

purchasing power parity - $229.3 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

7.1% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $9,700 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 7.2%
industry: 33.6%
services: 59.1% (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture 14.5%
industry 36%
services 49.5% (2000 est.)

Agriculture - products:

Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper, timber

Exports:

$123.5 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:

electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals

Exports - partners:

US 18.8%, Singapore 15%, Japan 10.1%, China 6.7%, Hong Kong 6%, Thailand 4.8% (2004)

Imports:

$99.3 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:

electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals

Imports - partners:

Japan 16.1%, US 14.6%, Singapore 11.2%, China 9.9%, Thailand 5.6%, Taiwan 5.5%, South Korea 5%, Germany 4.5%, Indonesia 4% (2004)

Currency:

ringgit (MYR)

Currency code:

MYR

Exchange rates:

ringgits per US dollar - 3.8 (2004), 3.8 (2003), 3.8 (2002), 3.8 (2001), 3.8 (2000)

Fiscal year:

calendar year