Malaysia in
Malay:is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast
Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal
territories, separated by the South China Sea
into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo.
Peninsular Malaysia borders Thailand in the north and Singapore in the south, Vietnam in the northeast, and Indonesia in the west; Malaysian Borneo borders Brunei and Indonesia. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital and
largest city while Putrajaya is the seat of federal government. With a
population of over 30 million, Malaysia
is the world's 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of
continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia. In the tropics, Malaysia is one
of 17 megadiverse countries, with large numbers of endemic species.
Malaysia
has its origins in the Malay kingdoms which, from the 18th century, became
subject to the British Empire when the Straits Settlements
became British protectorates. Peninsular Malaysia was unified as the Malayan
Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the
Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957.
Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore
on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia.
In 1965, Singapore
was expelled from the federation.The country is multi-ethnic and
multi-cultural, which plays a large role in its politics. About half the
population is ethnically Malay, with large minorities of Malaysian Chinese (the
second largest community of Overseas Chinese in the world), Malaysian Indians,
and indigenous peoples. The constitution grants freedom of religion but
recognises Islam as the established religion of the state. The government
system is closely modelled on the Westminster
parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of
state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He is an elected monarch
chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years.
The head of government is the Prime Minister. The country's official language
is Bahasa Melayu, commonly known as the Malay language. English remains an
active second language. In 2017 English proficiency in Malaysia was ranked the 2nd best in Asia (after Singapore) and
the 13th best in the world.
Since its independence, Malaysia
has had one of the best economic records in Asia,
with its GDP growing at an average of 6.5% per annum for almost 50 years. The
economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is
expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism. It
is also one of the few developing countries to heavily subsidise education and
healthcare. Malaysian citizens are entitled to free public education up to
secondary level and public tertiary education fees are subsidised by up to 90%.
Basic healthcare services at government run clinics with prescription cost RM1.
Disabled, senior citizens and public school students are entitled to free
healthcare. Malaysian healthcare services have been regarded as among the best
in the world and the UN Development Program called the Malaysian healthcare
system "a model to other developing countries".
Malaysia's
recent rapid development has attracted millions of migrant workers from across Asia. The majority of these migrants are undocumented, a
situation which the Malaysian government is struggling to combat, with its
treatment and crackdown on migrant workers often criticised by international
human rights watchdogs. Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy,
ranked 4th largest in Southeast Asia and 38th largest in the world. With a GDP
per capita of $10,430 and an HDI of 0.789, Malaysia is classified as an
emerging economy by the World Bank. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also
classifies Malaysia as an
emerging and developing country.Malaysia is a founding member of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the East Asia Summit, and the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation, the Commonwealth of Nations, and
the Non-Aligned Movement. In 2017, Malaysian citizens had visa-free or
visa-on-arrival access to 164 countries and territories, ranking the Malaysian
passport the 5th most accepted in the world
Capital Kuala Lumpur
3°8′N 101°41′E
Putrajaya (administrative)
2.9430952°N 101.699373°E
Largest city Kuala Lumpur
3°8′N 101°41′E
Official languages Malay
Official script Latin
Recognised languages English
Ethnic groups (2017[3])
68.8% Bumiputera
23.2% Chinese
7.0% Indian
1.0% Others
Religion
61.3% Islam (official)[4]
19.8% Buddhism
9.2% Christianity
6.3% Hinduism
1.3% Chinese folk
religion
1.0% Unknown
0.4% Others
0.7% Irreligion[5]
Demonym Malaysian
Government Federal
parliamentary elective constitutional monarchy
• Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Muhammad V
• Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad
• Chief Justice
Md Raus Sharif
• President of the Dewan Negara
SA. Vigneswaran
• Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat
Vacant
Legislature Parliament
• Upper house
Dewan Negara (Senate)
• Lower house
Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives)
Independence from the United Kingdom
• Independence of the
Federation of Malaya
31 August 1957[6]
• Sarawak Self-government
22 July 1963
• North Borneo
Self-government
31 August 1963
• Federation of
Malaya, North Borneo,
Sarawak,
Singapore
16 September 1963
• Expulsion of Singapore
9 August 1965
• ASEAN Declaration
8 August 1967
Area
• Total
330,803 km2 (127,724 sq mi) (66th)
• Water (%)
0.3
Population
• 2017 estimate
32,049,700 (44th)
• 2010 census
28,334,135
• Density
92/km2 (238.3/sq mi) (116th)
GDP (PPP)2018 estimate
• Total
$988.99 billion (26th)
• Per capita
$30,430(41st)
GDP (nominal) 2018
estimate
• Total
$340.000 billion (38th)
• Per capita
$10,430 (62nd)
Gini (2009)Negative
increase 46.3
high
HDI (2015) Increase
0.789
high · 59th
Currency Ringgit
(RM) (MYR)
Time zone MST
(UTC+8)
• Summer (DST)
not observed (UTC+8)
Date format dd-mm-yyyy
Drives on the left
Calling code +60
ISO 3166 code MY
Internet TLD .my
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