*Malaysia, Economy
Sarawak:
rubber, timber, pepper; deficit of rice in all areas; fish catch of 608,000
metric tons in 1987
Illicit drugs:
transit point for Golden Triangle heroin going to the US, Western Europe,
and the Third World
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-84), $170 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.7 million; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $42 million
Currency:
1 ringgit (M$) = 100 sen
Exchange rates:
ringgits (M$) per US$1 - 2.6238 (January 1993), 2.5475 (1992), 2.7501
(1991), 1.7048 (1990), 2.7088 (1989), 2.6188 (1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Malaysia, Communications
Railroads:
Peninsular Malaysia:
1,665 km 1.04-meter gauge; 13 km double track, government owned
Sabah:
136 km 1.000-meter gauge
Sarawak:
none
Highways:
Peninsular Malaysia:
23,600 km; 19,352 km hard surfaced, mostly bituminous surface treatment, and
4,248 km unpaved
Sabah:
3,782 km
Sarawak:
1,644 km
Inland waterways:
Peninsular Malaysia:
3,209 km
Sabah:
1,569 km
Sarawak:
2,518 km
Pipelines:
crude oil 1,307 km; natural gas 379 km
Ports:
Tanjong Kidurong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Kelang,
Sandakan, Tawau
Merchant marine:
184 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,869,817 GRT/2,786,765 DWT; includes
1 passenger-cargo, 2 short-sea passenger, 71 cargo, 28 container, 2 vehicle
carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off, 1 livestock carrier, 38 oil tanker, 6 chemical
tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 27 bulk
Airports:
total:
111
usable:
102
with permanent-surface runways:
32
with runways over 3,659 m:
1
with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 7
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
18
Telecommunications:
good intercity service provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave
radio relay; adequate intercity microwave radio relay network between Sabah
and Sarawak via Brunei; international service good; good coverage by radio
and television broadcasts; 994,860 telephones (1984); broadcast stations -
28 AM, 3 FM, 33 TV; submarine cables extend to India and Sarawak; SEACOM
submarine cable links to Hong Kong and Singapore; satellite earth stations -
1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, and 2 domestic
*Malaysia, Defense Forces
Branches:
Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal
Malaysian Police Force, Marine Police, Sarawak Border Scouts
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 4,837,256; fit for military service 2,941,577; reach
military age (21) annually 181,435 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $2.4 billion, about 5% of GDP (1992)
*Maldives, Geography
Location:
South Asia, in the Indian Ocean off the southwest coast of India
Map references:
Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
300 km2
land area:
300 km2
comparative area:
slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
644 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone:
35-310 nm as defined by geographic coordinates; segment of zone coincides
with maritime boundary with India
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
none
Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy,
southwest monsoon (June to August)
Terrain: flat with elevations only as high as 2.5 meters
Natural resources:
fish
Land use:
arable land:
10%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
3%
forest and woodland:
3%
other:
84%
Irrigated land:
NA km2
Environment:
1,200 coral islands grouped into 19 atolls
Note:
archipelago of strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in
Indian Ocean
*Maldives, People
Population:
243,094 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.64% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
44.34 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
7.91 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
57.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
63.86 years
male:
62.5 years
female:
65.28 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.36 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Maldivian(s)
adjective:
Maldivian
Ethnic divisions:
Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, African
Religions:
Sunni Muslim
Languages:
Divehi (dialect of Sinhala; script derived from Arabic), English spoken by
most government officials
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1985)
total population:
92%
male:
92%
female:
92%
Labor force:
66,000 (est.)
by occupation:
fishing industry 25%