MALAYSIA at-a-Glance

Population - 22,662,365 (July 2002 est.)

Capital - Kuala Lumpur

Government - Constitutional monarchy

National Holiday - Independence Day/Malaysia Day, August 31 (1957

Ethnic groups - Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%, others 10% (2000)

Languages - Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai;
*note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest of which are Iban and Kadazan

Area - total: 329,750 sq km (204,897 sq mi)
  water: 1,200 sq km (746 sq mi)
  land: 328,550 sq km (204,152 sq mi)

Area - comparative - Slightly larger than New Mexico

Religions - Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia