General information: Malaysia was formed in 1963 by the merger of Malaya (independent since 1957) and the former British Singapore, which united to form West Malaysia, and Sabah and Sara-waka in the north of the island of Borneo (Kalimantan), which formed East Malaysia. The first three years after independence were marred by clashes with Indonesia. Singapore withdrew from the union in 1965.
Location: Southeast Asia, Malay Peninsula Malaysia) and the northern third of the island of Borneo (Kalimantan), on the border with Indonesia and the coast of the South China Sea, south of Vietnam. See franciscogardening.com to know more about Malaysia Geography.
Geographical coordinates: 2° 30′ N. latitude, 112° 30’E
Reference map: Southeast Asia.
Area: total: 329,750 square kilometers; land surface area: 328,550 square kilometers; water surface area: 1,200 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than the state of New Mexico.
Land borders: total length: 2,669 km with neighboring states: with Brunei 381 km, with Indonesia 1,782 km, with Thailand 506 km.
Coastline: 4,675 km (Malacca Peninsula 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km).
Maritime claims: continental shelf: to a depth of 200 m or to the depth of exploitation; special boundary in the South China Sea. exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles. territorial waters: 12 nautical miles.
Climate: tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons.
Terrain: coastal plains, turning into hills and mountains.
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m; highest point: Mount Kinabalu 4,100 m.
Natural resources: tin, oil, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite.
Land use: arable land: 3%; cultivated land: 12%; pasture: 0%; forests and plantations: 68%; others: 17% (1993 est.).
Irrigated land: 2,941 km2 (1998 est.).
Natural hazards: floods; landslides.
Actual environmental problems: air pollution by emissions from industrial enterprises and exhaust gases; water pollution by sewage; deforestation; smog due to forest fires in Indonesia.
International agreements on environmental protection: member: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 1983, Tropical Timber 1994, Wetlands; signed but not ratified: Kyoto Protocol.
Geography note: strategically important location along the Malacca Strait and the southern part of the South China Sea.
Population: 22,229,040 (July 2001 est.).
Age structure: under 14: 34.5% (male 3,943,324; female 3,724,634); 15 to 64 years old: 61.35% (male 6,828,670; female 6,808,623); over 65: 4.15% (male 404,042; female 519,747) (2001 est.).
Population growth: 1.96% (2001 est.).
Birth rate: 24.75 newborns / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Mortality: 5.2 deaths / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Migration: 0 people /1000 people (2001 est.); note: the migration estimate does not reflect a systematic influx of illegal immigrants from other countries in the region.
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male/female; under 15: 1.06 male/female; from 15 to 64 years old: 1 male/female; over 65: 0.78 male/female; for the general population: 1.01 male/female (2001 est.);
Child mortality: 20.31 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.).
Life expectancy: for the general population: 71.11 years; men: 68.48 years; women: 73.92 years (2001 est.).
Total fertility rate: 3.24 children/wives. (2001 est.).
Proportion of adults infected with HIV: 0.42% (1999 est.).
Number of people infected with HIV: 49,000 (1999 est.).
AIDS deaths: 1,900 (1999 est.).
Nationality: noun: Malay; adjective: Malay.
Ethnic groups: Malays and other indigenous peoples 58%, Chinese 27%, Indians 8%, others 7% (2000).
Believers: Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs; note – Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia.
Language(s): Malay (Bahasa Melayu) (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Fuzhou), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalama, Punjabi, Thai; note – in East Malaysia, several other local languages are spoken, the main ones being Iban and Kadazan.
Literacy: definition: persons aged 15 and over who can read and write; for the general population: 83.5%; men: 89.1%; women: 78.1% (1995 est.).
Common long form: no.
conventional short form: Malaysia former: Federation of Malaysia
State structure: a constitutional monarchy; note: Malaya (Peninsula of Malacca) was formed on August 31, 1957; The Federation of Malaysia (Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore) was formed on July 9, 1963 (Singapore withdrew from the federation on August 9, 1965); officially the country is headed by a supreme ruler and a bicameral Parliament consisting of an unelected upper house and an elected lower house; hereditary sultans rule in all the states of Malaysia, except for the states of Melaka, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak, whose governors are appointed by the Malaysian government; the power of state governments is limited by the federal constitution; under the federal treaty, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (such as the right to impose their own immigration controls); Sabah has 20 seats in the House of Representatives, Sarawak has 28 seats,
Capital: Kuala Lumpur.
Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri) and 2 federal territories of NahuapregekiShap: Wilaya-Persecutuan*, Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan*, Melaka, Negeri-Sembilan, Pahang, Pe-rak, Perlis, Pulau-Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Se -langor, Terengganu; note: the city of Kuala Lumpur is in the federal territory of Vilaya Persecutuan; a new federal territory called Patrajaya could be created.
Independence: August 31, 1957 (until 1957 – a colony of Great Britain).
National holiday: Independence Day (Malaysia Day), 31 August (since 1957).
Constitution: adopted August 31, 1957, amended September 16, 1963
Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at the request of the supreme head of the federation; does not accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
Suffrage: from 21 years old; universal.
Chief of State: Supreme Ruler Sultan TUNKU SALAHUDDIN Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah (since 26 April 1999); Deputy Supreme Ruler Sultan MIZAN Zainal Abidin ibni A-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah (MIZAN Zainal Abidin ibni A-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah);
head of the government: Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (since 16 July 1981); Deputy Prime Minister ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi (since 8 January 1999);
Government: the cabinet of ministers, appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament with the consent of the supreme ruler; elections: the supreme ruler and deputy supreme ruler are elected from among the hereditary sultans by the hereditary sultans themselves of the nine states for a five-year term; elections last held 27 February 1999 (next to be held in 2004); the prime minister is elected from among the members of the House of Representatives; after elections to Parliament, the leader of the party that won the majority of seats in the House of Representatives becomes prime minister; election results: Sultan TUNKU SALAHUDDIN Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Al Marhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah elected supreme ruler; Sultan MIZAN Zainal Abidin ibni A-Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah was elected Deputy Supreme Ruler.
Legislature: bicameral Parliament, consisting of the Senate (Dewan Negara) (69 members, 43 of which are appointed by the supreme ruler, 26 are appointed by the legislature of each state [2 from the state]) and the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) (193 members elected by popular vote, with the presence of certain preferences of the rural Malay population, for a five-year period;); elections: House of Representatives – last held 29 November 1999 (next to be held 20 December 2004); election results: House of Representatives – distribution of votes by parties – NF 56%, other parties 44%; seat distribution by party – NF 148, PAS 27, DAP 10, NJP 5, PBS 3.
Judiciary: Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the supreme ruler on the advice of the prime minister).
Political parties and leaders: The Alternative Coalition (Barisan Alternatif-BA) includes the following parties: the Islam Se-Malaysia Party (Parti Islam SeMalaysia, PAS) (Ustaz Fadzil Mohamed NOOR), the National Justice Party (NJP) (VAN AZIZAH Wan Ismail, Democratic Action Party (DAP) (LIM Kit Siang) and People’s Party of Malaysia (PRM) (SYED HUSIN); National Front (NF), a governing coalition dominated by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) (MAHATHIR bin Mohamad) and which includes the following parties: Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) (S. Samy VELLU), Malaysian Chinese Association (ISA) (LING Liong Sik), Gera-kan Rakiyat Malaysia (LIM Keng Yaik), Pesak Bumiputra Bersatu Party (UPKO) (Bernard DOMPOK [Bernard DOMPOK]); Bersatu Sabah Party (PBRS) (Dr. Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan); party “Berseku-tu” (HARRIS Salleh [HARRIS Salleh]); Sarawak State Reform Party (STAR) (PA-TAU Rubis [PATAU Rubis]).
Political influence groups and their leaders:
Participation in international organizations: ARES, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CCC, SR, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
Diplomatic representation in the USA: head of mission: Ambassador GHAZZALI Sheikh Abdul Khalid (GHAZZALI Sheikh Abdul Khalid); office: 2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; phone:  (202) 328-2700; fax: [\) (202) 483-7661; Consulates General: Los Angeles and New York.
US Diplomatic Mission: Head of Mission: Ambassador Lynn PASCO (V. Lynn PAS-COE); embassy: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur; mailing address:?. O. Box No. 10035.50700 Kuala Lumpur; American Embassy Kuala Lumpur, APO AP 96535-8152; phone:  (3) 2168-5000; fax:  (3) 2168-4961.
Description of the flag: 14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) and white (bottom) alternately; in the upper corner near the hoist there is a blue rectangle bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow star with 14 rays; the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam; The design was based on the design of the US flag.