Malaysia

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 a Communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965. 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.

People:

Population:	25,274,133 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:	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.)
Median age:	total: 24.6 years male: 24 years female: 25.3 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:	1.742% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:	22.44 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:	5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:	NA note: does not reflect net flow of an unknown number of illegal immigrants from other countries in the region (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:	at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	total: 16.39 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 73.03 years male: 70.32 years female: 75.94 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:	2.98 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:	0.4% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:	52,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:	2,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:	degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)
Nationality:	noun: Malaysian(s) adjective: Malaysian
Ethnic groups:	Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% (2004 est.)
Religions:	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)
Languages:	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
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.7% male: 92% female: 85.4% (2000 census)

Economy - overview:	Malaysia, a middle-income country, has transformed itself since the 1970s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Since coming to office in 2003, Prime Minister ABDULLAH has tried to move the economy farther up the value-added production chain by attracting investments in high technology industries, medical technology, and pharmaceuticals. The Government of Malaysia is continuing efforts to boost domestic demand to wean the economy off of its dependence on exports. Nevertheless, exports - particularly of electronics - remain a significant driver of the economy. As an oil and gas exporter, Malaysia has profited from higher world energy prices, although the rising cost of domestic gasoline and diesel fuel forced Kuala Lumpur to reduce government subsidies. Malaysia "unpegged" the ringgit from the US dollar in 2005 and the currency appreciated 6% per year against the dollar in 2006-07. Although this has helped to hold down the price of imports, inflationary pressures began to build in 2007. Healthy foreign exchange reserves and a small external debt greatly reduce the risk that Malaysia will experience a financial crisis over the near term similar to the one in 1997. The government presented its five-year national development agenda in April 2006 through the Ninth Malaysia Plan, a comprehensive blueprint for the allocation of the national budget from 2006-10. With national elections expected within the year, ABDULLAH has unveiled a series of ambitious development schemes for several regions that have had trouble attracting business investment. Real GDP growth has averaged about 6% per year under ABDULLAH, but regions outside of Kuala Lumpur and the manufacturing hub Penang have not fared as well.
GDP (purchasing power parity):	$357.4 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):	$186.5 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:	6.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):	$13,300 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:	agriculture: 9.9% industry: 45.3% services: 44.8% (2007 est.)
Labor force:	10.94 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:	agriculture: 13% industry: 36% services: 51% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate:	3.2% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:	5.1% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:	lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 39.2% (2003 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:	46.1 (2002)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):	2.1% note: approximately 30% of goods are price-controlled (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):	21.8% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:	revenues: $40.69 billion expenditures: $46.7 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt:	41.6% of GDP (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products:	Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper, timber
Industries:	Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging, timber processing; Sabah - logging, petroleum production; Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging
Industrial production growth rate:	3.2% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:	82.36 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:	78.72 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:	0 kWh (2005)
Oil - production:	751,800 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:	501,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:	611,200 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:	278,600 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:	3 billion bbl (2007 est.)
Natural gas - production:	60.9 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:	31.84 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:	29.06 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:	0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:	2.037 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:	$26.05 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:	$181.2 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:	electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals
Exports - partners:	US 18.8%, Singapore 15.4%, Japan 8.9%, China 7.2%, Thailand 5.3%, Hong Kong 4.9% (2006)
Imports:	$145.7 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:	electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals
Imports - partners:	Japan 13.3%, US 12.6%, China 12.2%, Singapore 11.7%, Thailand 5.5%, Taiwan 5.5%, South Korea 5.4%, Germany 4.4% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:	$31.6 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:	$101.1 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:	$53.45 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:	$86.31 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:	$44.15 billion (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:	$235.4 billion (2006)
Currency (code):	ringgit (MYR)
Exchange rates:	ringgits per US dollar - 3.46 (2007), 3.6683 (2006), 3.8 (2005), 3.8 (2004), 3.8 (2003)
Fiscal year:	calendar year

Disputes - international:	Malaysia has asserted sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Malaysia was not party to the March 2005 joint accord among the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam on conducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits; in November 2007, the ICJ will hold public hearings in response to the Memorials and Countermemorials filed by the parties in 2003 and 2005 over sovereignty of Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands, also claimed by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia but left maritime boundary and sovereignty of Unarang rock in the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo; Brunei and Malaysia are still considering international adjudication over their disputed offshore and deepwater seabeds, where hydrocarbon exploration was terminated in 2003; Malaysia's land boundary with Brunei around Limbang is in dispute; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait
Refugees and internally displaced persons:	refugees (country of origin): 15,174 (Indonesia); 21,544 (Burma) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:	current situation: Malaysia is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation; foreign victims, mostly women and girls from Burma, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, are trafficked to Malaysia for commercial sexual exploitation; economic migrants from countries in the region who work as domestic servants or laborers in the construction and agricultural sectors face exploitative conditions in Malaysia that meet the definition of involuntary servitude; some Malaysian women, primarily of Chinese ethnicity, are trafficked abroad for sexual exploitation tier rating: Tier 3 - lack of satisfactory progress in combating trafficking in 2006; the government failed to prosecute traffickers arrested and detained under existing law and failed to provide adequate shelters and services to victims of trafficking
Illicit drugs:	drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously and carries severe penalties; heroin still primary drug of abuse, but synthetic drug demand remains strong; continued ecstasy and methamphetamine producer for domestic users and, to a lesser extent, the regional drug market

This page was last updated on 10 June 2008

source : CIA