Malaysia

• flooding;
• landslides;
• forest fires

noun:

Malaysian(s)

adjective:

Malaysian

total:

31.8 years (2024 est.)

male:

31.7 years

female:

31.9 years

at birth:

1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.94 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

6.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

6 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

76.6 years (2024 est.)

male:

75 years

female:

78.4 years

total:

0.64 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

22.5% (2020 est.)

male:

43.8% (2020 est.)

female:

1.1% (2020 est.)

• air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions;
• water pollution from raw sewage;
• deforestation;
• smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires;
• endangered species;
• coastal reclamation damaging mangroves and turtle nesting sites

urban population:

78.7% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.87% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

21.52 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

248.29 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

51.51 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

12,982,685 tons (2014 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

2,271,970 tons (2016 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

17.5% (2016 est.)

municipal:

1.34 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

1.64 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

2.51 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

2

global geoparks and regional networks:

Kinabalu; Langkawi (2023)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Malaysia

local long form:

none

local short form:

Malaysia

former:

British Malaya, Malayan Union, Federation of Malaya

etymology:

the name means "Land of the Malays"

name:

• Kuala Lumpur;
• note - nearby Putrajaya is referred to as a federal government administrative center but not the capital;
• Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur

geographic coordinates:

3 10 N, 101 42 E

time difference:

UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

the Malay word for "river junction or estuary" is kuala and lumpur means "mud"; together the words render the meaning of "muddy confluence"

• 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri);
• Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu;
• and 1 federal territory (Wilayah Persekutuan) with 3 components, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya

• mixed legal system of English common law, Islamic law (sharia), and customary law;
• judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Court at request of supreme head of the federation

history:

previous 1948; latest drafted 21 February 1957, effective 27 August 1957

amendments:

• proposed as a bill by Parliament;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Parliament membership in the bill’s second and third readings;
• a number of constitutional sections are excluded from amendment or repeal;
• amended many times, last in 2019

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Malaysia

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 out 12 years preceding application

chief of state:

King Sultan IBRAHIM ibni al-Marhum Sultan Iskandar (since 31 January 2024)

head of government:

Prime Minister ANWAR Ibrahim (since 25 November 2022)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among members of Parliament with the consent of the king

elections/appointments:

• king elected by and from the hereditary rulers of 9 states for a 5-year term;
• election is on a rotational basis among rulers of the 9 states;
• election last held on 24 October 2023 (next to be held in October 2028 with installation in January 2029);
• prime minister designated from among members of the House of Representatives;
• following legislative elections, the leader who commands support of the majority of members in the House becomes prime minister

note: the position of the king is primarily ceremonial, but he is the final arbiter on the appointment of the prime minister

highest court(s):

• Federal Court (consists of the chief justice, president of the Court of Appeal, chief justice of the High Court of Malaya, chief judge of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak, 8 judges, and 1 "additional" judge);
• note - Malaysia has a dual judicial hierarchy of civil and religious (sharia) courts

judge selection and term of office:

• Federal Court justices appointed by the monarch on advice of the prime minister;
• judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 66 with the possibility of a single 6-month extension

subordinate courts:

• Court of Appeal;
• High Court;
• Sessions Court;
• Magistrates' Court

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mohamed NAZRI Bin Abdul Aziz (since 19 April 2023)

chancery:

3516 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 572-9700

FAX:

[1] (202) 572-9882

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.kln.gov.my/web/usa_washington/home

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Edgard D. KAGAN (since 20 March 2024)

embassy:

376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur

mailing address:

4210 Kuala Lumpur, Washington DC 20521-4210

telephone:

[60] (3) 2168-5000

FAX:

[60] (3) 2142-2207

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://my.usembassy.gov/

• 14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom);
• there is a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow 14-pointed star;
• the flag is often referred to as Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory);
• the 14 stripes stand for the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal government;
• the 14 points on the star represent the unity between these entities;
• the crescent is a traditional symbol of Islam;
• blue symbolizes the unity of the Malay people and yellow is the royal color of Malay rulers

note: the design is based on the flag of the US

total World Heritage Sites:

5 (3 cultural, 2 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Gunung Mulu National Park (n);
• Kinabalu Park (n);
• Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Melaka (c);
• Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley (c);
• The Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex (c)

• upper middle-income Southeast Asian economy;
• implementing key anticorruption policies;
• major electronics, oil, and chemicals exporter;
• trade sector employs over 40% of jobs;
• key economic equity initiative;
• high labor productivity

Fitch rating:

BBB+ (2020)

Moody's rating:

A3 (2004)

Standard & Poors rating: A- (2003)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

• 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

total:

12.5% (2023 est.)

male:

11.4% (2023 est.)

female:

14.2% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

24.5% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

1.8% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.3% (2021 est.)

highest 10%:

30.9% (2021 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

production:

3.731 million metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

35.05 million metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

168,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

31.834 million metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

226 million metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

582,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

717,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

3.6 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

75.456 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

42.499 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

exports:

38.603 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

4.529 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

1.189 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• as part of a diverse range of initiatives designed to move the country from developing to developed status by 2025, Malaysia has enabled and encouraged open competition in its telecommunications market;
• the result is very high penetration levels in both the mobile (147%) and mobile broadband (127%) segments, and near-universal coverage of 4G LTE networks;
• steady growth is occurring as more fiber optic cable networks are being deployed around the country;
• consumers are the main beneficiaries of the highly competitive market;
• they enjoy widespread access to high-speed mobile services as well as attractive offers on bundles to keep data use up but prices low;
• the downside is that most of Malaysia’s MNOs and MVNOs have struggled to increase revenue in line with growth in subscriber numbers as well as demand for broadband data;
• while the operators have been very successful in moving a significant proportion (now over 30%) of customers from prepaid over to higher-value postpaid accounts, ARPU continues to fall year after year as a result of competitive pricing pressures;
• the mobile market, in particular, has become overcrowded and the government is keen to see further rationalization and consolidation with the operators;
• while customers will no doubt continue to enjoy high quality services at competitive rates, the new entity will be hopeful of squeezing better margins through improved economies of scale;
• in 2022, the government abandoned its single wholesale 5G network model and committed to deploying a dual 5G network;
• currently, 80 percent of Malaysia’s population is covered by 5G (2023)

domestic:

fixed-line roughly 25 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 141 per 100 persons (2021)

international:

• country code - 60;
• landing points for BBG, FEA, SAFE, SeaMeWe-3 & 4 & 5, AAE-1, JASUKA, BDM, Dumai-Melaka Cable System, BRCS, ACE, AAG, East-West Submarine Cable System, SEAX-1, SKR1M, APCN-2, APG, BtoBe, BaSICS, and Labuan-Brunei Submarine and MCT 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 (2019)

• 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 (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

13 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 270

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

60,481,772 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1,404,410,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

1,851 km (2014)

standard gauge:

59 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (59 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

1,792 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge (339 km electrified)

total:

144,403 km (excludes local roads)

paved:

116,169 km (includes 1,821 km of expressways)

unpaved:

28,234 km (2010)

total ports:

35 (2024)

large:

3

medium:

4

small:

10

very small:

18

ports with oil terminals:

24

key ports:

Johor, Kota Kinabalu, Port Dickson, Port Klang, Pulau Pinang, Tanjung Pelepas, Tapis Marine Terminal A

• the military fields a diverse array of mostly older but growing mix of modern weapons and equipment;
• its inventory originates from a wide variety of suppliers across Europe, Asia, and the US;
• Malaysia has a domestic defense industry that has some co-production agreements with countries such as France, Germany, and Turkey in such areas armored vehicles and naval vessels (2024)

• 17 years 6 months of age for voluntary military service for men and women (younger with parental consent and proof of age);
• maximum age of 27 to enlist;
• mandatory retirement age 60;
• no conscription (2023)

note: in 2020, the military announced a goal of having 10% of the active force comprised of women

• Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA);
• MYSA was established in 2019 through the merging of the National Space Agency (ANGKASA; established 2002) and Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency (MRSA; established 1998);
• Astronautic Technology Sd Bhd (ATSB; established 1995) (2024)