Terrain: coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Natural resources: tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 10% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 63% other: 24%
Irrigated land: 3,420 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions;
water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation
natural hazards: flooding
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83; signed,
but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South
China Sea
@Malaysia:People
Population: 19,723,587 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 37% (female 3,559,434; male 3,690,310)
15-64 years: 59% (female 5,871,131; male 5,844,568)
65 years and over: 4% (female 423,539; male 334,605) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.24% (1995 est.)