View Intelligence Dossier Back to 1992 CSV Excel Print All Years

Communications

Airports [time series]

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 [time series]

53 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

Peninsular Malaysia: 23,600 km (19,352 km hard surfaced, mostly bituminous-surface treatment, and 4,248 km unpaved) Sabah: 3,782 km Sarawak: 1,644 km

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

Peninsular Malaysia: 3,209 km Sabah: 1,569 km Sarawak: 2,518 km

Merchant marine [time series]

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

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

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

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

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

Sabah: 136 km 1.000-meter gauge

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

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]

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

Manpower availability [time series]

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

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues $12.2 billion; expenditures $14.4 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 (1970-89), $4.7 million; 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)

Exchange rates [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$21.3 billion (1991 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

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

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

Illicit drugs [time series]

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

Imports [time series]

$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 (Industrial production) [time series]

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

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

4.5% (1991 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

5.8% (1991 est.)

Geography

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

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

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, 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 - current issues (Environment) [time series]

subject to flooding; air and water pollution

Area (Land area) [time series]

328,550 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

2,669 km; 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%

Maritime claims [time series]

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

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

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

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; FAX [60] (3) 242-2207

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

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

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

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

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 Bin 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-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 [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), 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 [time series]

universal at age 21

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 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

People

Birth rate [time series]

29 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

27 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

7,258,000 (1991 est.)

Languages [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]

66 years male, 71 years female (1992)

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 (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

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

Population [time series]

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

Religions [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 (1992)