Malaysia, abbreviated as Malaysia, is a constitutional monarchy with a federal system. Its capital is Kuala Lumpur and the administrative center of the federal government is Putrajaya. The country is divided into 13 states and 3 federal territories, with a total area of approximately 330000 square kilometers. Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia and its territory is divided into two parts by the South China Sea, namely the southern part of the Malay Peninsula (West Malaysia) and the northern part of Kalimantan Island (East Malaysia), with a population of 33.7 million (2023). Among them, 70% are Malays, 22.7% are Chinese, 6.6% are Indians, and 0.7% are of other races.
At the beginning of the Common Era, the Malay Peninsula had ancient kingdoms such as Gyatsu and Langyaxiu. [1] In the early 15th century, the Kingdom of Malacca, centered around Malacca, unified most of the Malay Peninsula. [1] Starting from the 16th century, it was successively occupied by Portugal, the Netherlands, and Britain. [1] At the beginning of the 20th century, it completely became a British colony. Sarawak and Sabah on Kalimantan Island were historically part of Brunei and became British protectorates in 1888. [1] During World War II, the Malay Peninsula, Sarawak, and Sabah were occupied by Japan. After the war, Britain resumed colonial rule. On August 31, 1957, the Federation of Malaya declared independence. [1] On September 16, 1963, the Federation of Malaya merged with Singapore, Sarawak, and Sabah to form Malaysia (Singapore withdrew on August 9, 1965). [1]
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multicultural country, with Islam as its official religion. Malaysia is a capitalist country, and its economy made rapid progress in the 1990s. It is one of the Four Asian Tigers and has become a prominent diversified emerging industrial country in the Asian region and a world emerging market economy. The country implements a new economic policy that prioritizes the Malay and indigenous peoples.
In 2024, Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be 1931.125 billion ringgit, achieving an economic GDP growth rate of 5.1% and a per capita GDP of 54894 ringgit. [60]
Chinese name
Malaysia [1]
Foreign Name
Malaysia [1]
abbreviation
Malaysia [2]
Belonging continent
Asia
Capital City
Kuala Lumpur [1]
major city
Penang, Johor Bahru, Ipoh, Malacca, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu
National Day
August 31, 1957 (Independence Day)
National Anthem
My Motherland
Country code
MYS
official language
Malay
Currency
Ringgit 1
Time Zone
UTC+8
political system
Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
National leaders
Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar [3] (Supreme Leader), Anwar Ibrahim [28] (Prime Minister)
population size
33.7 million (2023)
population density
98.5 people per square kilometer 22
Main ethnic groups
Malays, Chinese, Indians [1]
Main religions
Islam 1
land area
About 330000 km ² [1]
Water area ratio
0.3%
International telephone area code
sixty
International Domain Abbreviations
.my
Road traffic
Driving on the left
national flower
Zhu Jin (Da Hong Hua, Fu Sang)
National Motto
Unity is strength
legal system
Anglo-American law system
Climate Type
tropical rainforest climate
university
University of Malaya, University of Science Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, National University of Malaysia, University of Technology Malaysia, etc
Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia
Ouyang Yujing [21]
gross domestic product
1931.125 billion ringgit (2024)
Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia, consisting of Malaya in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula and Sarawak and Sabah in the northern part of Kalimantan Island. The entire region is divided into two parts by the South China Sea: East Malaysia (referred to as East Malaysia) and West Malaysia (referred to as West Malaysia). West Malaysia is located in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, bordering Thailand to the north, facing Singapore across the Johor Strait to the south, facing the South China Sea to the east, and the Strait of Malacca to the west; East Malaysia is located in the northern part of Kalimantan Island, adjacent to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brunei; The closest distance between West Malaysia and East Malaysia is 600 nautical miles. The total land area of Malaysia is approximately 330000 square kilometers, including 132000 square kilometers in West Malaysia and 198000 square kilometers in East Malaysia. The coastline is 4192 kilometers long. [1] [27]
The natural resources within the territory are abundant. The production and export volume of rubber, palm oil, and pepper rank among the top in the world. Once a major tin producing country in the world, production has been decreasing year by year due to overexploitation. There are abundant oil reserves, as well as minerals such as iron, gold, tungsten, coal, bauxite, and manganese. Rich in tropical hardwood.
In the primitive forest, there are endangered exotic animals and rare birds, such as the flying lemur, the brown haired giant ape, the white rhinoceros, and the orangutan. There are also many wild animals such as birds, snakes, crocodiles, and insects. Orchids, giant apes, and butterflies are known as the three great treasures of horses.
Malaysia is divided into 13 states, including Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, Terengganu, as well as Sabah and Sarawak, and three federal territories: the capital Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya. [1]
national capital
The capital Kuala Lumpur has a population of approximately 2.04 million. The area is 243 square kilometers. The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, which serve both tourism and communication purposes, are 466 meters tall and were once the tallest buildings in the world. It is one of the tallest towers in Asia, like two silver swords piercing straight into the clouds. Kuala Lumpur is still a microcosm of this multi-ethnic and multi religious country, with mosques, Buddhist and Hindu temples scattered throughout the city, and over 20 Christian churches.
The administrative center of the federal government, Putrajaya, is located 25 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur and covers an area of 49 square kilometers. The Prime Minister’s Office and some government staff moved in June 1999 and completed the relocation before 2005.
According to data from the Malaysian Bureau of Statistics in 2018, the total population was 32.385 million. In terms of ethnic groups, there are a total of 20071900 indigenous people (61.98%), 6685500 Malaysian Chinese (20.64%), 2.0104 million Malaysian Indians (6.24%), 294500 other people (0.90%), and 3.3227 million non nationals (10.26%).
According to the constitutional definition, Malays are Muslims who practice Malay customs (customary law) and culture. They have political dominance. Indigenous status is also granted to certain non Malay indigenous peoples, including Thai, Khmer, Cham, and Sabah and Sarawak indigenous peoples. Non Malay indigenous people make up over half of the population in Sarawak and over two-thirds in Sabah. There are also a few indigenous groups on the peninsula, collectively known as Orang Asli. The legal provisions regarding who can obtain indigenous status vary from state to state.
According to the update on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in February 2021, the population of Malaysia is 32.75 million. Among them, 69.1% are Malays, 23% are Chinese, 6.9% are Indians, and 1.0% are of other races. [1]
As of the end of 2020, the total population of Malaysia was approximately 32.73 million. Among them, there are approximately 16.83 million males and 15.9 million females. The top 5 states in terms of population are Selangor, Sabah, Johor, Sarawak, and Perak. [27]
On February 14, 2022, according to the brief report released on the same day by the sixth national census statistics department of the Malaysian government, the population of Malaysia in 2020 will be about 32.45 million, of which 29.8 million are Malaysian citizens, and 23.2% are Chinese Malaysian citizens. In 2020, the male to female ratio in Malaysia was 110 to 100; In 2010, this number was 106 to 100. In 2023, the population of Malaysia is 33 million.