Malaysia - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Malaysia. Strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 21 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Malaysia
Location Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
Geographic coordinates 2 30 N, 112 30 E
Map references Southeast Asia
Tarrain coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Natural Resources tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite
Natural Hazards flooding; landslides; forest fires
Irrigated Land 4,420 sq km (2020)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 2,742 km
Border Countries Brunei 266 km; Indonesia 1,881 km; Thailand 595 km
Coastline 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km)
Climate tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
Area
Total Area
Land Area 328,657 sq km
Water Area 1,190 sq km
comparative Area slightly larger than New Mexico
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea
Elevations
Highest point Gunung Kinabalu 4,095 m
Lowest point Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation 419 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 23.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 2.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 19.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 0.9% (2018 est.)
Forest 62% (2018 est.)
Other 14.8% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

A highly uneven distribution with over 80% of the population residing on the Malay Peninsula

People and Society

In Malaysia, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Bumiputera 63.8% (Malay 52.8% and indigenous peoples, including Orang Asli, Dayak, Anak Negeri, 11%), Chinese 20.6%, Indian 6%, other 0.6%, non-citizens 9% (2023 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.99% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 14.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 5.8 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 4.1% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 1.9 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Total fertility rate 1.73 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.84 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 52.2% (2014)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 59.3% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 3.9% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Malaysian | Malaysian(s)
Languages
Religions Muslim (official) 63.5%, Buddhist 18.7%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.1%, other (Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions) 0.9%, none/unspecified 1.8% (2020 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 22.2% (male 3,947,914/female 3,730,319)
15-64 years 69.4% (male 12,308,938/female 11,666,947)
65 years and over 8.4% (2024 est.) (male 1,409,360/female 1,501,332)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 43.3
Youth dependency ratio 32.9
Elderly dependency ratio 10.4
Potential support ratio 9.6 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 31.8 years (2024 est.)
Male 31.7 years
Female 31.9 years
Urbanization
Urban population 78.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 1.87% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 8.622 million KUALA LUMPUR (capital), 1.086 million Johor Bahru, 857,000 Ipoh (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.94 male(s)/female
Total population 1.05 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 6 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 76.6 years (2024 est.)
Male 75 years
Female 78.4 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 99.4% of population
Improved: rural rural: 90.7% of population
Improved: total total: 97.5% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.6% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 9.3% of population
Unimproved: total total: 2.5% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 99% of population
Improved: rural rural: NA
Improved: total total: NA
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.1% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: NA
Unimproved: total total: (2020 est.) NA
Major Infectious diseases
Degree of risk intermediate (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases bacterial diarrhea
Vectorborne diseases dengue fever
Water contact diseases leptospirosis
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 0.64 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 22.5% (2020 est.)
Male 43.8% (2020 est.)
Female 1.1% (2020 est.)
Demographic profile

Malaysia’s multi-ethnic population consists of the bumiputera – Malays and other indigenous peoples – (62%), ethnic Chinese (21%), ethnic Indians (6%), and foreigners (10%).  The majority of Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese and Indians trace their roots to the British colonialists’ recruitment of hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Indians as mine and plantation workers between the early-19th century and the 1930s.  Most Malays have maintained their rural lifestyle, while the entrepreneurial Chinese have achieved greater wealth and economic dominance.  In order to eradicate Malay poverty, the Malaysian Government in 1971 adopted policies that gave preference to the bumiputera in public university admissions, government jobs and contracts, and property ownership.  Affirmative action continues to benefit well-off urban bumiputera but has done little to alleviate poverty for their more numerous rural counterparts.  The policies have pushed ethnic Chinese and Indians to study at private or foreign universities (many do not return) and have created and sustained one of the world’s largest civil services, which is 85-90% Malay. 

The country’s age structure has changed significantly since the 1960s, as fertility and mortality rates have declined.  Malaysia’s total fertility rate (TFR) has dropped from 5 children per woman in 1970, to 3 in 1998, to 2.1 in 2015 as a result of increased educational attainment and labor participation among women, later marriages, increased use of contraception, and changes in family size preference related to urbanization.  The TFR is higher among Malays, rural residents (who are mainly Malay), the poor, and the less-educated.  Despite the reduced fertility rate, Malaysia’s population will continue to grow, albeit at a decreasing rate, for the next few decades because of its large number of reproductive-age women.  The youth population has been shrinking, and the working-age population (15-64 year olds) has been growing steadily.  Malaysia’s labor market has successfully absorbed the increasing number of job seekers, leading to sustained economic growth.  However, the favorable age structure is changing, and around 2020, Malaysia will start to become a rapidly aging society.  As the population ages, Malaysia will need to better educate and train its labor force, raise productivity, and continue to increase the number of women workers in order to further develop its economy.

More than 1.8 million Malaysians lived abroad as of 2015, including anywhere from 350,000 to 785,000 workers, more than half of whom have an advanced level of education.  The vast majority of emigrants are ethnic Chinese, seeking better educational and job opportunities abroad because of institutionalized ethnic discrimination favoring the Malays.  The primary destination country is nearby Singapore, followed by Bangladesh and Australia.  Hundreds of thousands of Malaysians also commute across the causeway to Singapore daily for work.

Brain drain is an impediment to Malaysia’s goal of becoming a high-income country.  The situation is compounded by a migrant inflow that is composed almost entirely of low-skilled laborers who work mainly in manufacturing, agriculture, and construction.  Officially, Malaysia had about 1.8 million legal foreign workers as of mid-year 2017 – largely from Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, and Bangladesh – but as many as 3 to 4 million are estimated to be in the country illegally.  Immigrants outnumber ethnic Indians and could supplant the ethnic Chinese as Malaysia’s second largest population group around 2035.

All Important Facts about Malaysia

Want to know more about Malaysia? Check all different factbooks for Malaysia below.

Malaysia is found in South-Eastern Asia