Malaysia

Federation of Malaysia formed 9 July 1963Independence 31 August 1957 (from UK)

Malaysia as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 66 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalKuala Lumpur

Area329,750 km2

Populationas each edition published it

17.98 million July 1991 · 17.51m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 2.32% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 23.6 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 68.82 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.6 children per woman 1991 · 3.5 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

29 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 30 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $2,960 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 8% in 1993

Geography

11 fields

Total area

329,750km2

land area: 328,550 km2Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries

2,669km total

Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782, Thailand 506 km

Coastline

4,675 km total (2,068 km Peninsular Malaysia, 2,607 km East Malaysia) Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation, specified boundary in the South China Sea;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes

involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam;
state of Sabah claimed by the Philippines;
Brunei may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides Brunei into two parts

Climate

tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons

Terrain

coastal plains rising to hills and mountains

Natural resources

tin, crude oil, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite

Land use

arable land 3%;
permanent crops 10%;
meadows and pastures NEGL%;
forest and woodland 63%;
other 24%;
includes irrigated 1%

Environment

subject to flooding; air and water pollution

Note

strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea

People

14 fields

Population

17,981,698

(July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

30Death

6Net migration

Ethnic divisions

Malay and other indigenous 59%Chinese 32%Indian 9%

Literacy

78%

(male 86%, female 70%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

noun--Malaysian(s); adjective--Malaysian

Religion

Peninsular Malaysia--Malays nearly all Muslim, Chinese predominantly Buddhists, Indians predominantly Hindu;
Sabah--Muslim 38%, Christian 17%, other 45%;
Sarawak--tribal religion 35%, Buddhist and Confucianist 24%, Muslim 20%, Christian 16%, other 5%

Language

Peninsular Malaysia--Malay (official);
English, Chinese dialects, Tamil;
Sabah--English, Malay, numerous tribal dialects, Mandarin and Hakka dialects predominate among Chinese;
Sarawak--English, Malay, Mandarin, numerous tribal languages

Labor force

6,800,000; agriculture 30.8%, manufacturing 17%, government 13.6%, construction 5.8%, finance 4.3%, business services, transport and communications 3.4%, mining 0.6%, other 24.5% (1989 est.)

Organized labor

660,000, 10% of total labor force (1988)

Government

Federation of Malaysia formed 9 July 1963

17 fields

House of Representatives, 180 seats, elected 21 October 1990one dot, one seat

DAP 20PAS 7independents 4other 22

Type

Federation of Malaysia formed 9 July 1963;
constitutional monarchy nominally headed by the paramount ruler (king) and a bicameral Parliament;
Peninsular Malaysian states--hereditary rulers in all but Penang and Melaka, where governors are appointed by Malaysian Government;
powers of state governments are limited by federal Constitution;
Sabah--self-governing state, holds 20 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government;
Sarawak--self-governing state within Malaysia, holds 27 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government

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*

Constitution

31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963 when Federation of Malaya became Federation of Malaysia

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

Executive branch

paramount ruler, deputy paramount ruler, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament (Parlimen) consists of an upper house or Senate (Dewan Negara) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court Chief of State--Paramount Ruler AZLAN Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Sultan Yusof Izzudin (since 26 April 1989);
Deputy Paramount Ruler JA'AFAR ibni Abdul Rahman (since 26 April 1989);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Dr. MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (since 16 July 1981);
Deputy Prime Minister Abdul GHAFAR Baba (since 7 May 1986)

Political parties and leaders

Peninsular Malaysia-- National Front, a confederation of 13 political parties dominated by United Malays National Organization Baru (UMNO Baru), MAHATHIR bin Mohamad;
Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), LING Liong Sik;
Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Datuk LIM Keng Yaik;
Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), Datuk S. Samy VELLU;
Sabah--Berjaya Party, Datuk Haji Mohammed NOOR Mansor;
Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Joseph Pairin KITINGAN;
United Sabah National Organizaton (USNO), Tun Datu Haji MUSTAPHA;
Sarawak--coalition Sarawak National Front composed of the Party Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Datuk Patinggi Amar Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud;
Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), Datuk Amar Stephen YONG Kuet Tze;
Sarawak National Party (SNAP), Datuk James WONG Kim Min;
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), Datuk Leo MOGGIE;
major opposition parties are Democratic Action Party (DAP), LIM Kit Siang and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Fadzil NOOR

Suffrage

universal at age 21 House of Representatives--last held 21 October 1990 (next to be held by August 1995);
results--National Front 52%, other 48%;
seats--(180 total) National Front 127, DAP 20, PAS 7, independents 4, other 22;
note--within the National Front, UMNO got 71 seats and MCA 18 seats

Communists

Peninsular Malaysia--about 1,000 armed insurgents on Thailand side of international boundary and about 200 full time inside Malaysia surrendered on 2 December 1989;
about 50 Communist insurgents in Sarawak surrendered on 17 October 1990

APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Abdul MAJID Mohamed;
Chancery at 2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 328-2700;
there are Malaysian Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York;
US--Ambassador Paul M. CLEVELAND;
Embassy at 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur (mailing address is P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur);
telephone [60] (3) 248-9011

Flag

fourteen 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

In 1988-90 booming exports helped Malaysia continue to recover from the severe 1985-86 recession.

15 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$43.1billion

per capita $2,460; real growth rate 10% (1990)

Inflation, consumer prices

3.1%

(1990 est.)

Unemployment rate

(1990)

External debt

$20.0billion

(1990)

Budget

Revenues

$12.6 billionExpenditures

$11.8 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $3.2 billion (1991 est.)

Overview

In 1988-90 booming exports helped Malaysia continue to recover from the severe 1985-86 recession. Real output grew by 8.8% in 1989 and 10% in 1990, helped by vigorous growth in manufacturing output, further increases in foreign direct investment, particularly from Japanese and Taiwanese firms facing higher costs at home, and increased oil production in 1990.

Malaysia has become the world's third-largest producer of semiconductor devices (after the US and Japan) and the world's largest exporter of semiconductor devices. Inflation remained low as unemployment stood at 6% of the labor force and as the government followed prudent fiscal/monetary policies.

The country is not self-sufficient in food, and some of the rural population subsists at the poverty level. Malaysia's high export dependence leaves it vulnerable to a recession in the OECD countries or a fall in world commodity prices.

Exports

$28.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--natural rubber, palm oil, tin, timber, petroleum, electronics, light manufactures;
partners--Singapore, US, Japan, EC

Imports

$26.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--food, crude oil, consumer goods, intermediate goods, capital equipment, chemicals;
partners--Japan, US, Singapore, FRG, UK

Industrial production

growth rate 15.8% (1990 est.); accounts for 27% of GDP

Electricity

5,600,000 kW capacity;
16,500 million kWh produced, 940 kWh per capita (1990) 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 Peninsular Malaysia--natural rubber, palm oil, rice;
Sabah--mainly subsistence, but also rubber, timber, coconut, rice;
Sarawak--rubber, timber, pepper;
there is a deficit of rice in all areas;
fish catch of 608,000 metric tons in 1987

Illicit drugs

transit point for Golden Triangle heroin going to the US, Western Europe, and the Third World

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-84), $170 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $4.5 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $42 million

Currency

ringgit (plural--ringgits); 1 ringgit (M$) = 100 sen

Exchange rates

ringgits (M$) per US$1--2.7151 (January 1991), 1.7048 (1990), 2.7088 (1989), 2.6188 (1988), 2.5196 (1987), 2.5814 (1986), 2.4830 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

6 fields

Merchant marine, 157 ships by type

short-sea passenger 1cargo 65container 22vehicle carrier 2roll-on/roll-off cargo 2livestock carrier 1petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 31chemical tanker 3liquefied gas 6passenger-cargo 1bulk 23157 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,530,756 GRT/2,246,358 DWT

Airports, 125 total, 119 usable

permanent-surface runways

32runways over 3,659 m

1runways 2,440-3,659 m

7runways 1,220-2,439 m

Ports

Tanjong Kidurong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Tawau

Civil air

53 major transport aircraft

Pipelines

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

Telecommunications

good intercity service provided to peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave relay, adequate intercity radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei;
international service good;
good coverage by radio and television broadcasts;
994,860 telephones (1984);
stations--28 AM, 3 FM, 33 TV;
submarine cables extend to India and Sarawak;
SEACOM submarine cable links to Hong Kong and Singapore;
satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, and 2 domestic