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Malaysia flag
Malaysia
   As you can see from the map, Malaysia is made up of two distinct and separated sections of over 500 kilometers, the southern part of the Malay Peninsula and the northern part of the island of Borneo. Almost 60% of the country is still covered by forests and is morphologically quite varied; Malaysia is one of the fastest growing countries in recent decades, thanks to the good resources it has in various economic sectors.
Government type Federal parliamentary monarchy
Area 330,411 kmē (127,572 sq mi)
Population 32,447,000 inh. (2020 census)
Population 33,981,000 inh. (2024 est.)
Population density 103 inh/kmē (266 inh/miē)
Capital Kuala Lumpur (2,076,000 pop., 9,387,000 urban aggl.)
Currency Malaysian ringgit
Human development index 0.803 (62nd place)
Languages Malaysian (official), English, Chinese, Tamil
Life expectancy M 73 years, F 78 years
Location in Asia

Boundaries:

Thailand NORTH-WEST
Brunei NORTH
Singapore* and Indonesia SOUTH
Indian Ocean WEST
Pacific Ocean NORTH-EAST

* Malaysia and Singapore are separated by a narrow stretch of sea (Johore Strait) just over 1 km wide on average, there is actually no physical border between the two countries.

GEOGRAPHY DATA OF MALAYSIA


Largest cities
Kuala Lumpur 2,076,000 pop., 9,387,000 urban aggl.
Seberang Perai 946,000 pop., 1,704,000 urban aggl.
Subang Jaya 902,000 pop.
Johor Bahru 858,000 pop., 2,040,000 urban aggl.
Shah Alam 812,000 pop.
George Town 794,000 pop.
Petaling Jaya 772,000 pop.
Ipoh 760,000 pop., 1,036,000 urban aggl.
Seremban 682,000 pop.
Iskandar Puteri 576,000 pop.
Kuantan 548,000 pop.
Kota Kinabalu 500,000 pop.
Malacca 454,000 pop.
Alor Setar 424,000 pop.
Kuching 349,000 pop., 662,000 urban aggl.
Highest mountains
Mount Kinabalu 4,095 m (13,435 ft)
Gunung Tahan 2,187 m (7,175 ft) in Malay Peninsula
Longest rivers
Rajang 563 km (350 mi)
Kinabatangan 560 km (348 mi)
Pahang 459 km (285 mi)
Largest lakes
Kenyir Lake (artificial) 260 kmē (100 sq mi)
Largest islands
Borneo 743,330 kmē (287,001 sq mi) total, 204,315 kmē (78,886 sq mi) in Malaysia
Banggi 441 kmē (170 sq mi)
Bruit 405 kmē (156 sq mi)
Langkawi 320 kmē (124 sq mi)
Penang 293 kmē (113 sq mi)

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS OF MALAYSIA

   Malaysia is made up of 13 states and 3 federal territories, corresponding to the cities of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya and the island of Labuan, near Borneo; the 2 states of Sarawak and Sabah, in the Malaysian part of Borneo, are by far the largest entities and together make up 60% of the country's surface area; the state of Selangor, which includes a large part of the urban area of the capital, is the most populated.

   Only one city exceeds one million inhabitants, the capital Kuala Lumpur, while other urban centers approach this threshold without overcome it; with the exception of the two chief towns, Borneo has no other major cities; as you can see from the map, cities are usually located by the sea or in any case not far from it.



Kuala Lumpur



Useful links

Department of Statistics Malaysia
Malaysia Travel