Facts and Figures

Full name: Malaysia

Nationality
        noun: Malaysian(s)
        adjective: Malaysian

Flag:

Area
        total: 329,750 sq km
        water: 1,200 sq km
        land: 328,550 sq km

Population: 23,953,136 (July 2005 est.)

Ethnic groups
        Malay and other indigenous 58%
        Chinese 24%
        Indian 8%
        others 10% (2000)

Capital: Kuala Lumpur
note: Putrajaya is referred to as administrative center not capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur  (1 300 000)

Largest Cities
        Impoh  - 570,000
        Klang - 560,000
        Melaka -370,000
        George town - 180,000

Official Language
        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  

Religion
        Muslim
        Buddhist
        Daoist
        Hindu
        Christian
        Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia

Political system: 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 20 seats in House of Representatives and will hold 25 seats after the next election; Sarawak holds 28 seats in House of Representatives

GDP: purchasing power parity - $229.3 billion (2004 est.)

GDP per head: purchasing power parity - $9,700 (2004 est.)

Annual growth: 7.1% (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
        agriculture: 7.2% 
        industry: 33.6%
        services: 59.1% (2004 est.)  

Inflation: 1.3% (2004 est.) 

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