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Communications

Airports [time series]

125 total, 119 usable; 32 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 [time series]

53 major transport aircraft

Merchant marine [time series]

157 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,530,756 GRT/2,246,358 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 65 cargo, 22 container, 2 vehicle carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 livestock carrier, 31 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 chemical tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 1 passenger-cargo, 23 bulk

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil, 1,307 km; natural gas, 379 km

Ports [time series]

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

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

good intercity service provided to peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave 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); 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

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$1.7 billion, 3.9% of GDP (1990)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 4,620,418; 2,815,910 fit for military service; 180,991 reach military age (21) annually

Economy

Budget [time series]

revenues $12.6 billion; expenditures $11.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.2 billion (1991 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-84), $170 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $4.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $42 million

Electricity [time series]

5,600,000 kW capacity; 16,500 million kWh produced, 940 kWh per capita (1990) Peninsular Malaysia--rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging and processing timber; Sabah--logging, petroleum production; Sarawak--agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging Peninsular Malaysia--natural rubber, palm oil, rice; Sabah--mainly subsistence, but also rubber, timber, coconut, rice; Sarawak--rubber, timber, pepper; there is a deficit of rice in all areas; fish catch of 608,000 metric tons in 1987

Exchange rates [time series]

ringgits (M$) per US$1--2.7151 (January 1991), 1.7048 (1990), 2.7088 (1989), 2.6188 (1988), 2.5196 (1987), 2.5814 (1986), 2.4830 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$28.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--natural rubber, palm oil, tin, timber, petroleum, electronics, light manufactures; partners--Singapore, US, Japan, EC

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$20.0 billion (1990)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$43.1 billion, per capita $2,460; real growth rate 10% (1990)

Illicit drugs [time series]

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

Imports [time series]

$26.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--food, crude oil, consumer goods, intermediate goods, capital equipment, chemicals; partners--Japan, US, Singapore, FRG, UK

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 15.8% (1990 est.); accounts for 27% of GDP

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

3.1% (1990 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

In 1988-90 booming exports helped Malaysia continue to recover from the severe 1985-86 recession. Real output grew by 8.8% in 1989 and 10% in 1990, 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 in 1990. 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 remained low as unemployment stood at 6% of the labor force and as the government followed prudent fiscal/monetary policies. The country is not self-sufficient in food, and some of the rural population subsists 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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

6% (1990)

Geography

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

4,675 km total (2,068 km Peninsular Malaysia, 2,607 km East Malaysia) Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation, specified boundary in the South China Sea; Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than New Mexico

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

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

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

subject to flooding; air and water pollution

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

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

Natural resources [time series]

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

Note [time series]

strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea

Terrain [time series]

coastal plains rising to hills and mountains

Area (Total area) [time series]

329,750 km2; land area: 328,550 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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 [time series]

Kuala Lumpur

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

Peninsular Malaysia--about 1,000 armed insurgents on Thailand side of international boundary and about 200 full time inside Malaysia surrendered on 2 December 1989; about 50 Communist insurgents in Sarawak surrendered on 17 October 1990

Constitution [time series]

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

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

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

Executive branch [time series]

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

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

31 August 1957 (from UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court 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); Head of Government--Prime Minister Dr. MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (since 16 July 1981); Deputy Prime Minister Abdul GHAFAR Baba (since 7 May 1986)

Legal system [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

none

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, 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 [time series]

National Day, 31 August (1957)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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), Tun Datu Haji MUSTAPHA; 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 Stephen YONG Kuet Tze; Sarawak National Party (SNAP), Datuk James WONG Kim Min; 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 [time series]

universal at age 21 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

Government type (Type) [time series]

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 Penang and Melaka, where governors are appointed by Malaysian 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

People

Birth rate [time series]

30 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

29 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

6,800,000; agriculture 30.8%, manufacturing 17%, government 13.6%, construction 5.8%, finance 4.3%, business services, transport and communications 3.4%, mining 0.6%, other 24.5% (1989 est.)

Languages (Language) [time series]

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 [time series]

65 years male, 71 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun--Malaysian(s); adjective--Malaysian

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

660,000, 10% of total labor force (1988)

Population [time series]

17,981,698 (July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

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 [time series]

3.6 children born/woman (1991)