Malaysia overview

General information:

Official Name: Persekutuan Malaysia short form: Malaysia int'l long form: Federation of Malaysia ISO Country Code: my Local Time = UTC +8h: Sat-Nov-7 12:10 Country Calling Code: +60 Capital City: Kuala Lumpur (pop. 6.9 million in metropolitan area) Seat of Government: Putrajaya Other Cities: Penang, Ipoh, Malacca, Johor Baru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Alor Setar, Shah Alam.

Government: Type: Federal parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. Independence: 31. August 1957. (Malaya, which is now peninsular Malaysia, became independent in 1957. In 1963 Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore formed Malaysia. Singapore became an independent country in 1965.). Constitution: 31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963. Geography: Location: Southeastern Asia, partly on Malay Peninsula south of Thailand and on the northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam. Area: 330,000 km² (127,316 sq. mi.) Terrain: Coastal plains and interior, jungle-covered mountains. The South China Sea separates peninsular Malaysia from East Malaysia on Borneo. Climate:

Tropical, annual southwest (Apr to Oct) and northeast (Oct to Feb) monsoons. People: Nationality: Malaysian(s). Population: 29 million (2012) Ethnic groups: Malay 50%, Chinese 24%, Indigenous 11.0%, Indian 7%, non-Malaysian citizens 7 %. Religions: Islam (60%), Buddhism (20%), Christianity (10%), Hinduism (6%),Confucianism (2.6%), Animism (1%), others (including Taoism, Sikhism, Baha'i faith). Languages: Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin Chinese, English, Tamil, indigenous. Literacy: 94%. Natural resources:

Tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite. Agriculture products:

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

Semiconductors and electronic equipment, palm oil, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals, solar panels Exports

Singapore 13.6%,China 12.6%, Japan 11.8%, USA 8.7%,Thailand 5.4%, Hong Kong 4.3%, India4.2%, Australia 4.1% (2012) Imports

China 15.1%, Singapore 13.3%, Japan 10.3%, USA 8.1%, Thailand 6%, Indonesia 5.1%,South Korea 4.1% (2012) Currency:

Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)