1992 Edition

Climate

tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons

Coastline

4,675 km; Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than New Mexico

Continental shelf

200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation, specified boundary in the South China Sea

Disputes

involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; State of Sabah claimed by the Philippines; Brunei may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides Brunei into two parts; two islands in dispute with Singapore

Environment

subject to flooding; air and water pollution

Exclusive economic zone

200 nm

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

Land area

328,550 km2

Land boundaries

2,669 km; Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782, Thailand 506 km

Land use

arable land 3%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures NEGL%; forest and woodland 63%; other 24%; includes irrigated 1%

Natural resources

tin, crude oil, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite

Note

strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea

Terrain

coastal plains rising to hills and mountains

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

329,750 km2

Birth rate

29 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

Malay and other indigenous 59%, Chinese 32%, Indian 9%

Infant mortality rate

27 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

7,258,000 (1991 est.)

Languages

Peninsular Malaysia - Malay (official); English, Chinese dialects, Tamil; Sabah - English, Malay, numerous tribal dialects, Mandarin and Hakka dialects predominate among Chinese; Sarawak - English, Malay, Mandarin, numerous tribal languages

Life expectancy at birth

66 years male, 71 years female (1992)

Literacy

78% (male 86%, female 70%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

noun - Malaysian(s); adjective - Malaysian

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

640,000; 10% of total labor force (1990)

Population

18,410,920 (July 1992), growth rate 2.4% (1992)

Religions

Peninsular Malaysia - Malays nearly all Muslim, Chinese predominantly Buddhists, Indians predominantly Hindu; Sabah - Muslim 38%, Christian 17%, other 45%; Sarawak - tribal religion 35%, Buddhist and Confucianist 24%, Muslim 20%, Christian 16%, other 5%

Total fertility rate

3.6 children born/woman (1992)

Administrative divisions

13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) and 2 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular - wilayah persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan*, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan*

Capital

Kuala Lumpur

Chief of State

Paramount Ruler AZLAN Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Sultan Yusof Izzudin (since 26 April 1989); Deputy Paramount Ruler JA'AFAR ibni Abdul Rahman (since 26 April 1989)

Constitution

31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963 when Federation of Malaya became Federation of Malaysia

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Abdul MAJID Mohamed; Chancery at 2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 328-2700; there are Malaysian Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York US: Ambassador Paul M. CLEVELAND; Embassy at 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur (mailing address is P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur); telephone [60] (3) 248-9011; FAX [60] (3) 242-2207

Executive branch

paramount ruler, deputy paramount ruler, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Flag

fourteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star; the crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the US

Head of Government

Prime Minister Dr. MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (since 16 July 1981); Deputy Prime Minister Abdul GHAFAR Bin Baba (since 7 May 1986)

House of Representatives

last held 21 October 1990 (next to be held by August 1995); results - National Front 52%, other 48%; seats - (180 total) National Front 127, DAP 20, PAS 7, independents 4, other 22; note - within the National Front, UMNO got 71 seats and MCA 18 seats

Independence

31 August 1957 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament (Parlimen) consists of an upper house or Senate (Dewan Negara) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat)

Long-form name

none

Member of

APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO

National holiday

National Day, 31 August (1957)

Peninsular Malaysia

National Front, a confederation of 13 political parties dominated by United Malays National Organization Baru (UMNO Baru), MAHATHIR bin Mohamad; Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), LING Liong Sik; Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Datuk LIM Keng Yaik; Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), Datuk S. Samy VELLU

Sabah

Berjaya Party, Datuk Haji Mohammed NOOR Mansor; Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Joseph Pairin KITINGAN; United Sabah National Organizaton (USNO), leader NA

Sarawak

coalition Sarawak National Front composed of the Party Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Datuk Patinggi Amar Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud; Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), Datuk Amar James WONG Soon Kai; Sarawak National Party (SNAP), Datuk Amar James WONG; Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), Datuk Leo MOGGIE; major opposition parties are Democratic Action Party (DAP), LIM Kit Siang and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Fadzil NOOR

Suffrage

universal at age 21

Type

Federation of Malaysia formed 9 July 1963; constitutional monarchy nominally headed by the paramount ruler (king) and a bicameral Parliament; Peninsular Malaysian states - hereditary rulers in all but Melaka, where governors are appointed by Malaysian Pulau Pinang Government; powers of state governments are limited by federal Constitution; Sabah - self-governing state, holds 20 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government; Sarawak - self-governing state within Malaysia, holds 27 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government

Budget

revenues $12.2 billion; expenditures $14.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.2 billion (1991 est.)

Currency

ringgit (plural - ringgits); 1 ringgit (M$) = 100 sen

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-84), $170 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.7 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $42 million

Electricity

5,600,000 kW capacity; 16,500 million kWh produced, 940 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

ringgits (M$) per US$1 - 2.6930 (January 1992), 2.7501 (1991), 1.7048 (1990), 2.7088 (1989), 2.6188 (1988), 2.5196 (1987)

Exports

$35.4 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: electrical manufactures, crude petroleum, timber, rubber, palm oil, textiles partners: Singapore, US, Japan, EC

External debt

$21.3 billion (1991 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $48.0 billion, per capita $2,670; real growth rate 8.6% (1991 est.)

Illicit drugs

transit point for Golden Triangle heroin going to the US, Western Europe, and the Third World

Imports

$38.7 billion (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: food, crude oil, consumer goods, intermediate goods, capital equipment, chemicals partners: Japan, US, Singapore, Germany, UK

Industrial production

growth rate 18% (1990); accounts for 40% of GDP

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.5% (1991 est.)

Overview

During the period 1988-91 booming exports helped Malaysia continue to recover from the severe 1985-86 recession. Real output grew by 8.8% in 1989, 10% in 1990, and 8.6% in 1991, helped by vigorous growth in manufacturing output, further increases in foreign direct investment - particularly from Japanese and Taiwanese firms facing higher costs at home - and increased oil production. Malaysia has become the world's third-largest producer of semiconductor devices (after the US and Japan) and the world's largest exporter of semiconductor devices. Inflation has remained low; unemployment has stood at 6% of the labor force; and the government has followed prudent fiscal/monetary policies. The country is not self-sufficient in food, and some of the rural population subsist at the poverty level. Malaysia's high export dependence leaves it vulnerable to a recession in the OECD countries or a fall in world commodity prices.

Peninsular Malaysia

rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging and processing timber

natural rubber, palm oil, rice

Sabah

logging, petroleum production

mainly subsistence, but also rubber, timber, coconut, rice

Sarawak

agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging

rubber, timber, pepper; there is a deficit of rice in all areas; fish catch of 608,000 metric tons in 1987

Unemployment rate

5.8% (1991 est.)

Airports

115 total, 108 usable; 33 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 18 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

53 major transport aircraft

Merchant marine

167 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,653,633 GRT/2,444,393 DWT; includes 1 passenger-cargo, 1 short-sea passenger, 64 cargo, 27 container, 2 vehicle carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off, 1 livestock carrier, 37 petroleum tanker, 5 chemical tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 21 bulk

Peninsular Malaysia

1,665 km 1.04-meter gauge; 13 km double track, government owned

23,600 km (19,352 km hard surfaced, mostly bituminous-surface treatment, and 4,248 km unpaved)

3,209 km

Pipelines

crude oil 1,307 km; natural gas 379 km

Ports

Tanjong Kidurong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Tawau

Sabah

136 km 1.000-meter gauge

3,782 km

1,569 km

Sarawak

1,644 km

2,518 km

Telecommunications

good intercity service provided to Peninsular Malaysia mainly by radio relay; adequate intercity radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; international service good; good coverage by radio and television broadcasts; 994,860 telephones (1984); broadcast stations - 28 AM, 3 FM, 33 TV; submarine cables extend to India and Sarawak; SEACOM submarine cable links to Hong Kong and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, and 2 domestic

Branches

Royal Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Police Force, Marine Police, Sarawak Border Scouts

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $2.4 billion, about 5% of GDP (1992 budget)

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 4,728,103; 2,878,574 fit for military service; 179,486 reach military age (21) annually