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ACD Country Profile |
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Malaysia |
General Profile
Location: Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
Area: total: 329,750 sq km
land: 328,550 sq km
water: 1,200 sq km
Climate: tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
Terrain: coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Capital: Kuala Lumpur
note: Putrajaya is referred to as administrative center not capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur
Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, and Terengganu; and one federal territory (wilayah persekutuan) with three components, city of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya
Population: 23,953,136 (2005 est.)
Nationality: noun: Malaysian(s)
adjective: Malaysian
Ethnic groups: Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, Indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% (2004 est.)
Religions: Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia
Languages: Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
note: in addition, in East Malaysia several ethnic languages are spoken, the largest are Iban and Kadazan
Literacy: 88.7%
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Political Profile
Currency (code): ringgit (MYR)
GDP: $248 billion (2005 est.)
GDP per capita: $10,400 (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals
Exports - partners: US , Singapore , Japan , China , Hong Kong , Thailand
Imports - commodities: electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals
Imports - partners: Japan, US, Singapore, China, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, Indonesia
Agriculture - products: Peninsular Malaysia-rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah-subsistence crops, timber, coconuts rice; Sarawak-rubber, peper, timber
Industries: Peninsular Malaysia-rubber and oil palm processing and manufacting timber; Sabah-logging, petroleum production and refining logging
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Economical Profile
Government type: constitutional monarchy
Executive branch:
• chief of state: Paramount Ruler Tuanku SYED SIRAJUDDIN ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail, the Raja of Perlis (since December 2001)
• head of government: Prime Minister ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi (since October 2003
• cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament with consent of the paramount ruler
• elections: paramount ruler elected by and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states for five-year terms
National Holiday: 31 August (1957)
ACD Member: ACD Member since 2002
Prime Mover (PM) on Working Group: E-Commerce, Infrastructure Fund, E-Education
Co-Prime Mover on Working Group: None
Malaysia government official web site : www.gov.my
Source: The World Fact Book 2005 (www.cia.gov) |
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