Ethnic groups:
Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%, others 10%
(2000)
Religions:
Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in
addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia
Languages:
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
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9%
male: 92.4%
female: 85.4% (2003 est.)
Government Malaysia
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Malaysia former: Federation of Malaysia
Government type:
constitutional monarchy
note: Malaya (what is now Peninsular Malaysia) formed 31 August
1957; Federation of Malaysia (Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore)
formed 9 July 1963 (Singapore left the federation on 9 August 1965);
nominally headed by the paramount ruler and a bicameral Parliament
consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house;
Peninsular Malaysian states - hereditary rulers in all but Melaka,
George Town (Penang), Sabah, and Sarawak, where governors are
appointed by the Malaysian Government; powers of state governments
are limited by the federal constitution; under terms of the
federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional
prerogatives (e.g., the right to maintain their own immigration
controls); Sabah - holds 20 seats in House of Representatives, with
foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers
delegated to federal government; Sarawak - holds 28 seats in House
of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal
security, and other powers delegated to federal government
Capital:
Kuala Lumpur
Administrative divisions:
13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) and 3 federal
territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular - wilayah
persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan*, Melaka, Negeri
Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Putrajaya*, Sabah,
Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan*
note: the city of Kuala Lumpur is within the federal territory of
Wilayah Persekutuan; the terms therefore are not interchangeable;
Independence:
31 August 1957 (from UK)