Across Malaysia
What an awsome country.
If
you haven't discovered Malaysia yet,
let us help you get to
know this incredible country.
Background: During the late 18th and 19th
centuries, Great Britain established
colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were
occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled
territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya,
which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the
former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of
Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the
Federation. The first several years of the country's history were
marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to
Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965.
Area: total: 329,750 sq
km - land: 328,550 sq km - water:
1,200 sq km
Area comparative: slightly larger than New
Mexico
Climate:
tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and
northeast (October to February) monsoons
Population:
23,522,482 (July 2004 est.)
Ethnic
Groups: Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%,
Indian 8%, others 10% (2000)
Religious
affiliation: Muslim, Buddhist,
Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is
practiced in East Malaysia
Languages: Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese
dialects (Cantonese,
Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam,
Panjabi, Thai; note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous
languages are spoken, the largest are Iban and Kadazan
Economy: Malaysia, a
middle-income country, transformed itself from 1971 through
the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into a multi-sector
economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven by exports -
particularly of electronics. As a result Malaysia was hard hit by the
global economic downturn and the slump in the information technology
(IT) sector in 2001 and 2002. GDP in 2001 grew only 0.5% due to an
estimated 11% contraction in exports, but a substantial fiscal stimulus
package equal to US $1.9 billion mitigated the worst of the recession
and the economy rebounded in 2002 with a 4.1% increase. The economy
grew 4.9% in 2003, notwithstanding a difficult first half, when
external pressures from SARS and the Iraq War led to caution in the
business community. Healthy foreign exchange reserves and a relatively
small external debt make it unlikely that Malaysia will experience a
crisis similar to the one in 1997, but the economy remains vulnerable
to a more protracted slowdown in Japan and the US, top export
destinations and key sources of foreign investment. The Malaysian
ringgit is pegged to the dollar, and the Japanese central bank
continues to intervene and prop up the yen against the dollar.
Population
below poverty line: 8%
(1998 est.)
Labor force by
occupation: agriculture 14.5%, industry 36%,
services 49.5% (2000 est.)
Industries: 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
Natural Hazzards:
flooding, landslides, forest fires
Natural
Resources: tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore,
natural gas, bauxite
Environmental
Issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicular
emissions; water pollution
from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires
Export
Partners: US 19.6%, Singapore 15.7%, Japan 10.7%, China
6.5%, Hong Kong 6.5%, Thailand 4.4% (2003)
Import
Partners: Japan 17.3%, US 15.5%, Singapore 11.9%, China
8.8%, South Korea 5.5%, Taiwan 5%, Germany 4.7%, Thailand 4.6% (2003)
Communications: (2004)
Regular
Telephones: 4,571,600 (2003)
Mobile / Cell: 11,124,100 (2003)
Radio Stations: AM 35, FM 391, shortwave 15 (2001)
Television Stations: 1 (plus 15 high-power repeaters) (2001)
Internet country code: .my
Internet users: 8,692,100 (2003)
Airports
- 117 (2003 est.)
- Heliports: 1 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS, People living with: 52,000 (2003 est.)
Primary
Source: World Fact Book
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