Map Of Malaysia Created By The CIA

The map of Malaysia above comes from the CIA World Factbook

Malaysia Location Map

Malaysia Facts

Full Official Name: Malaysia
Demonym: Malaysian

Flag:

Area

Total Area: 329,847 km²
Total Land Area: 328,657 km²
Total Water Area: 1,190 km²

Demographics

Population: 34,564,810

Population Growth Rate: 0.99% (2024 est.)

Largest City: Kuala Lumpur (Population: 2,075,600)

Ethnic Groups: 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.)

Languages: Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai

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.)

Economy

Currency: Malaysian ringgit

Real GDP at Purchasing Power Parity ($ PPP): $1.152 trillion (2023 est.)

GDP per capita (PPP): $33,600 (2023 est.)

Exports Value Per Year: $312.857 billion (2022 est.)

Biggest Export Partners: Singapore 14%, China 13%, US 12%, Japan 6%, Hong Kong 6% (2022)

Imports Value Per Year: $283.601 billion (2022 est.)

Biggest Import Partners: China 28%, Singapore 12%, US 6%, Taiwan 6%, Japan 5% (2022)

Government

Type: federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital City: Kuala Lumpur; note – nearby Putrajaya is referred to as a federal government administrative center but not the capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur (Population: 2,075,600)

Other Facts

Time Zone: UTC+8:00 (MST)

Country Code: MY

Internet TLD: .my

Climate Map of Malaysia

Map created by Beck, H.E., McVicar, T.R., Vergopolan, N., Alexis, B., Lutsko, N.J., Dufour, A., Zeng, Z., Jian, X., van Dijk, A.I.J.M., Miralles, D.G.

Climate: tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons

Flag Map of Malaysia

Map created by Fry1989

Odd Shape?

Malaysia was included in my list of The 17 Oddest Shaped Countries In The World & How They Came To Be.

Malaysia has an odd shape primarily because it’s geographically separated into two distinct parts—Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and Malaysian Borneo (East Malaysia)—split by about 650 kilometers (400 miles) of ocean (the South China Sea).

This unusual geographic division makes Malaysia unique among countries.

Here’s clearly why Malaysia’s shape is odd and how it came about:

What’s Odd About Malaysia’s Shape?

Malaysia is divided into two separate territories:
- Peninsular Malaysia (on the Asian mainland, south of Thailand)
- East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), located on the island of Borneo, sharing borders with Indonesia and Brunei.
The two halves are widely separated by ocean, creating the unusual condition of a single country split by a large sea gap.

How Malaysia Got Its Odd Shape:

Colonial History (Main Reason):

Malaysia’s current territorial division was shaped largely by British colonial rule.
During the 18th to 20th centuries, Britain colonized different regions separately:
- Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia) was governed separately as the Federation of Malaya.
- North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak were separate British protectorates on Borneo island.
Upon independence (1963), these separate colonial territories chose to unite politically into one federation (initially including Singapore), despite their geographic separation.

Geographical Factors:

Natural boundaries (like oceans and islands) played a key role. Peninsular Malaysia was naturally separated from Borneo island by the South China Sea, which served as a clear geographic division.
Borneo island was too large and separate geographically to connect physically to Peninsular Malaysia, resulting in the fragmented shape when the federation was formed.

Political Unification Decisions:

The decision to unite these geographically separated territories was driven by political considerations—security, economic benefit, and cultural connections—not by geographic convenience.

Consequences of Malaysia’s Odd Shape:

Cultural diversity: Distinct cultures and ethnic groups developed separately in the two regions, enriching Malaysia’s cultural landscape but sometimes causing regional differences.
Logistics and governance: The geographic separation creates logistical challenges for transportation, communication, governance, and defense.
Economic implications: Different resources and economic activities developed separately—Peninsular Malaysia focuses more on industry, while East Malaysia emphasizes agriculture, natural resources (like timber and oil), and eco-tourism.