PEOPLE AND SOCIETY

Population:  33,519,406 (July 2021 est.)

Nationality: Malaysian(s)

Languages: Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; note - Malaysia has 134 living languages - 112 indigenous languages and 22 non-indigenous languages; in East Malaysia, there are several indigenous languages; the most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan

Ethnic Groups: Bumiputera 62.5% (Malays and indigenous peoples, including Orang Asli, Dayak, Anak Negeri), Chinese 20.6%, Indian 6.2%, other 0.9%, non-citizens 9.8% (2019 est.)

Religions: Muslim (official) 61.3%, Buddhist 19.8%, Christian 9.2%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 1.3%, other 0.4%, none 0.8%, unspecified 1% (2010 est.)

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

0-24 years:  43%
25-54 years: 41%
55+ years: 16%

Median age:  29 years

Urbanization - 77% of total population (2021).  Kuala Lumpur 8.2 million people.

Over 80% of the population residing on the Malay Peninsula

NATIONAL IDENTITY

COUNTRY NAMES

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Malaysia

Independence: 31 August 1957 (from Great Britain)

National holiday: 31 August - Merdeka (or Independence Day)Malaysia Day, 16 September - Malaysia Day (formation of Malaysia - inclusion of Sabah & Sarawak in 1963)

Government Type: federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy

note: all Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers (commonly referred to as sultans) except Melaka (Malacca) 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 the federal constitution; under terms of federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives.

Administrative Divisions
13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu; and 1 federal territory (Wilayah Persekutuan) with 3 components, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya

Flag Description

14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow 14-pointed star; the flag is often referred to as Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory); the 14 stripes stand for the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal government; the 14 points on the star represent the unity between these entities; the crescent is a traditional symbol of Islam; blue symbolizes the unity of the Malay people and yellow is the royal color of Malay rulers

National anthem

name: "Negaraku" (My Country)
lyrics/music: collective, led by Tunku ABDUL RAHMAN/Pierre Jean DE BERANGER
note: adopted 1957; full version only performed in the presence of the king; the tune, which was adopted from a popular French melody titled "La Rosalie," was originally the anthem of Perak, one of Malaysia's 13 states

National symbol(s): tiger, hibiscus

ECONOMY

Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, petroleum and natural gas, light manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, electronics and semiconductors, timber processing; Sabah - logging, petroleum and natural gas production; Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum and natural gas production, logging

Exchange rate:  1 USD = 4.14 Malaysian Ringgit (MYR), 2021 est

COMM

International: country code - 60

Internet country code - .my

Mobile cellular subscriptions: 44,600,700 (136 per 100 inhabitants, 2019 est.)
Internet users total: 25,829,444 (81% of population, 2018 est.)

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SOURCE: CIA World Factbook