Malaysia

Malaysia مليسيا‎ (Jawi)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu برسکوتو برتمبه موتو‎ (Jawi) "Unity is Strength"
Anthem: "Negaraku" "My Country"
Location of  Malaysia  (dark green) – in Asia  (dark gray & white) – in ASEAN  (dark gray)
Capital and largest city	Kuala Lumpur
Administrative center	Putrajaya
Official languages	Malay
Recognised language	English
Ethnic groups (2023)	50.0% Bumiputera 45.9% Malay 4.1% indigenous people 37.0% Chinese 7.6% Indian 5.4% other
Religion (2020)	53.7% Sunni Islam (official) 19.0% Buddhism 12.2% Christianity 4.1% Hinduism 11.0% other
Demonym(s)	Malaysian
Government	Federal parliamentary constitutional elective monarchy
• Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King)	Muhammad V
• Prime Minister	Anwar Ibrahim
• President of the Dewan Negara	Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah
• Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat	Johari Abdul
• Chief Justice	Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Dewan Negara (Senate)
• Lower house	Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives)
Independence  from the United Kingdom
• Federation of Malaya	31 August 1957
• Sarawak self-governance	22 July 1963
• North Borneo self-governance	31 August 1963
• Proclamation of Malaysia	16 September 1963
Area
• Total	337,303 km2 (130,233 sq mi) (67th)
• Water (%)	8.9
Population
• 2024 estimate	40,994,805 (36th)
• Density	121/km2 (313.4/sq mi) (101st)
GDP (PPP)	2024 estimate
• Total	$3.019 trillion (15th)
• Per capita	$73,643 (16th)
GDP (nominal)	2024 estimate
• Total	$1.391 trillion (17th)
• Per capita	$33,931 (34th)
Gini (2024)	40.3 medium
HDI (2024)	0.859 very high (45th)
Currency	Malaysian ringgit (RM) (MYR)
Time zone	UTC+8 (MST)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+60
ISO 3166 code	MY
Internet TLD	.my

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Separated by the South China Sea into two regions, namely Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia, it is a federal constitutional monarchy consisting of 15 states and three federal territories. In this, the country shares a land border with Thailand and Indonesia as well as maritime borders with Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Its official capital is Kuala Lumpur, where the legislative branch is situated, while its administrative capital is Putrajaya, the seat of both the executive and judicial branches. With a population of roughly 40 million, it is the 37th-most-populous country in the world and is also one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries as the home to numerous endemic species.

Historically, the country could trace its origins to the Malay kingdoms which, from the 18th century onwards, became subjects of the British Empire alongside the Straits Settlements protectorates. During the Second World War, British Malaya, along with other European colonies in the region, was temporarily occupied by the Empire of Japan whose subsequent surrender in 1945 resulted in the brief unification of Peninsular Malaysia as the Malayan Union which was later restructured as the Federation of Malaya. On 31 August 1957, the country achieved independence from the British and on 16 September 1963, united with the British crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak, Singapore, and Brunei to form contemporary Malaysia.

A highly multiethnic and multicultural country, Malaysian politics are highly racialised with race-based parties being common on the political stage. Overall, about half of the country's population is classified as Bumiputera, although the local Malay population is a plurality, followed by the Chinese, Indians, and indigenous population. The official language is Malaysian Malay, a standard form of the Malay language while English remains the official second language. Officially, Islam is the state religion although non-Muslims are granted freedom of religion by the constitution. As a former British colony, its government is modeled heavily on the Westminster system while the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is an elected monarch who is chosen from among the country's ten state sultans every five years while the prime minister is the head of government. Although previously a dominant one-party state since independence under the Barisan Nasional coalition, since 2018, the country has embraced multi-party democracy with the current prime minister Anwar Ibrahim being of the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

Considered to be a newly industrialised market economy, in the decades since independence, the Malaysian economy grew at an average annual rate of 6.5% for almost fifty years straight with the economic growth traditionally driven by natural resources although it has since come to include commerce, tourism, and medical tourism. With a very high Human Development Index, the country ranks among the top tenth in Asia with its economy also being among Asia's largest while its GDP per capita makes it the richest country in Southeast Asia and also among Asia's richest as well. On the international stage, the country is a founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the East Asia Summit, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, while also being a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. It is also one of the ten members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest trade agreement in the world.