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About Malaysia |
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Malaysia is a federation
of thirteen states in Southeast Asia. The country consists of two
geographical regions divided by the South China Sea.
Peninsular Malaysia (or West Malaysia) on the Malay Peninsula shares
a land border on the north with Thailand and is connected by the Johor-Singapore
Causeway and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link to the south with
Singapore. |
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| It consists of nine sultanates (Johor,
Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor
and Terengganu), two states headed by governors (Malacca and Penang),
and two federal territories (Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur). Malaysian
Borneo (or East Malaysia) occupies the northern part of the island
of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and surrounding the Sultanate of Brunei.
It consists of the states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory
of Labuan.
The name "Malaysia" was adopted in 1963 when the Federation of
Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu), Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak
formed a 14-state federation. Singapore was expelled from the federation
in 1965 and subsequently became an independent country.
During the 22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad
(1981-2003), Malaysia was successful in diversifying its economy
from dependence on exports of raw materials, to expansion in manufacturing,
services, and tourism. |
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Capital City |
Kuala
Lumpur |
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Area |
329,750 sq km |
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Population
(July 2006 est.) |
24,385,858 |
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Language |
Bahasa Melayu
(official), English, Chinese (Cantonese,
Mandarin, Hokkien,
Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil,
Telugu, Malayalam,
Panjabi, Thai and Kadazan |
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Economy Status |
GDP (Purchasing
Power Parity) : $308.8 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official
exchange rate) : $131.8 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita
(PPP) : $12,700 (2006 est.) |
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