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MALAYSIA
Map of MALAYSIA
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Location:
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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 |
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Geographic coordinates:
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2 30 N, 112 30 E |
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Area:
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total: 329,750 sq km
land: 328,550 sq km
water: 1,200 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than New Mexico |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,669 km
border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km |
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Coastline:
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4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km) |
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea |
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Climate:
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tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons |
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Terrain:
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coastal plains rising to hills and mountains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m |
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Natural resources:
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tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite |
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Land use:
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arable land: 5.46%
permanent crops: 17.54%
other: 77% (2005) |
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Irrigated land:
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3,650 sq km (2003) |
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atural hazards:
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flooding, landslides, forest fires |
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Environment - current issues:
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air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands |
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Population:
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25,274,133 (July 2008 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 31.8% (male 4,135,013/female 3,898,761)
15-64 years: 63.3% (male 8,026,755/female 7,965,332)
65 years and over: 4.9% (male 548,970/female 699,302) (2008 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Malaysian(s)
adjective: Malaysian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% (2004 est.) |
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Religions:
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Muslim 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%, other or unknown 1.5%, none 0.8% (2000 census) |
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Languages:
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Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.7%
male: 92%
female: 85.4% (2000 census) |
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 13 years
male: 12 years
female: 13 years (2005) |
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Education expenditures - percent of GDP:
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6.2% (2004) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Malaysia
local long form: none
local short form: Malaysia
former: Federation of Malaya |
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Government type:
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constitutional monarchy
note: nominally headed by paramount ruler and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; all Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers except Melaka and Pulau Pinang (Penang); those two states along with Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia have governors appointed by government; powers of state governments are limited by federal constitution; under terms of federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., right to maintain their own immigration controls); Sabah holds 25 seats in House of Representatives; Sarawak has 31 seats |
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Capital:
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name: Kuala Lumpur
geographic coordinates: 3 10 N, 101 42 E
time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note: Putrajaya is referred to as administrative center not capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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31 August 1957 (from UK) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August (1957)
Source: http:/cia.gov
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