Page last updated on February 5, 2013
Nationality:
noun: Malaysian(s)
adjective:
Malaysian
Ethnic groups:
Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% (2004 est.)
Languages:
Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
note:
in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan
Religions:
Muslim (or Islam - official) 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%, other or unknown 1.5%, none 0.8% (2000 census)
Population:
29,179,952 (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.4% (male 4,404,957/female 4,160,051)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years:
17.2% (male 2,537,970/female 2,475,220)
25-54 years:
41.2% (male 6,102,115/female 5,929,175)
55-64 years:
7.1% (male 1,061,771/female 1,015,411)
65 years and over:
5.1% (male 704,898/female 788,384) (2012 est.)
Median age:
total: 27.1 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male:
26.9 years
female:
27.3 years (2012 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.542% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 78
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
20.74 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
4.95 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 185
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
-0.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population
country comparison to the world: 135
note:
does not reflect net flow of an unknown number of illegal immigrants from other countries in the region (2012 est.)
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
Urbanization:
urban population: 72% of total population (2010)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization:
2.4% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Major cities - population:
KUALA LUMPUR (capital) 1.493 million; Klang 1.071 million; Johor Bahru 958,000 (2009)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
under 15 years:
1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.89 male(s)/female
total population:
1.03 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Maternal mortality rate:
29 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 125
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 14.57 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 118
male:
16.83 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
12.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.04 years
country comparison to the world: 112
male:
71.28 years
female:
76.99 years (2012 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.64 children born/woman (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 78
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Health expenditures:
8% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 58
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.941 physicians/1,000 population (2008)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Hospital bed density:
1.82 beds/1,000 population (2009)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 96% of population
rural: 95% of population
total: 96% of population
unimproved:
