Malaysia
Facts
Area:
Total: 204,907 sq miles
Land: 204,161 sq miles
Water: 288 sq miles
Climate:
Tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
Elevation Extremes:
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 ft
Highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 13,448 ft
Population:
24,385,858
Ethnic Groups:
Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, Indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8%
Religions:
Muslim, Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia
Languages:
Bahasa Melayu (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
Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Malaysia
Former: Federation of Malaysia
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 holds 28 seats in House of Representatives
Capital:
Kuala Lumpur
Note: Putrajaya is referred to as administrative center not capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur
Independence:
31 August 1957 (from UK)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$12,100 (2005 est.)
Currency:
Ringgit (MYR)
Time Zone:
GMT +8 hours
Country Dialing Code:
+60
Electricity:
240V 50HzHz