Compare Iran (2003) - Malaysia (2003)

Compare Iran (2003) z Malaysia (2003)

	Iran (2003)	Malaysia (2003)

Administrative divisions	28 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan	13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) and 3 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular - wilayah persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Putrajaya, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan* note: the city of Kuala Lumpur is within the federal territory of Wilayah Persekutuan; the terms therefore are not interchangeable;
Age structure	0-14 years: 29.3% (male 10,279,588; female 9,727,668) 15-64 years: 65.9% (male 22,916,431; female 22,095,124) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 1,625,113; female 1,634,902) (2003 est.)	0-14 years: 33.7% (male 4,001,507; female 3,777,896) 15-64 years: 61.9% (male 7,163,252; female 7,131,745) 65 years and over: 4.4% (male 447,230; female 571,310) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar	Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper; timber
Airports	309 (2002)	114 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 122 over 3,047 m: 39 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 27 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 4 (2002)	total: 35 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 7 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 187 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 138 under 914 m: 39 (2002)	total: 79 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 72 (2002)
Area	total: 1.648 million sq km land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km	total: 329,750 sq km land: 328,550 sq km water: 1,200 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Alaska	slightly larger than New Mexico
Background	Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority vested in a learned religious scholar. A group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq over disputed territory. Over the past decade, popular dissatisfaction with the government, driven by demographic changes, restrictive social policies, and poor economic conditions, has created a powerful and enduring pressure for political reform.	Malaysia was formed in 1963 through a federation of the former British colonies of Malaya and Singapore, including the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the federation in 1965.
Birth rate	17.23 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)	23.7 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $29.5 billion expenditures: $31.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)	revenues: $20.3 billion expenditures: $27.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.4 billion (2001 est.)
Capital	Tehran	Kuala Lumpur
Climate	mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast	tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
Coastline	2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)	4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km)
Constitution	2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership	31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963
Country name	conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Iran conventional short form: Iran local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran local short form: Iran former: Persia	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Malaysia former: Federation of Malaysia
Currency	Iranian rial (IRR)	ringgit (MYR)
Death rate	5.54 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)	5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$8.7 billion (2002 est.)	$47.5 billion (2002 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland	chief of mission: Ambassador Marie T. HUHTALA embassy: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur mailing address: P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur; American Embassy Kuala Lumpur, APO AP 96535-8152 telephone: [60] (3) 2168-5000 FAX: [60] (3) 2142-2207
Diplomatic representation in the US	none; note - Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address: Iranian Interests Section, Pakistani Embassy, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990	chief of mission: Ambassador GHAZZALI bin Sheikh Abdul Khalid chancery: 3516 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 572-9700 FAX: [1] (202) 572-9882 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
Disputes - international	Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed waters on Helmand River tributaries in response to prolonged drought in region; thousands of Afghan refugees still reside in Iran; despite restored diplomatic relations in 1990, disputes with Iraq over maritime and land boundaries, navigation channel, and other issues from eight-year war persist; UAE engage direct talks and Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island; Iran insists on division of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors, while other littoral states have generally agreed to equidistant seabed boundaries - Iran has threatened Azerbaijanian hydrocarbon exploration in disputed waters	involved in complex dispute over Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and possibly Brunei; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; disputes over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation on Johor, maritime boundaries, and Singapore-occupied Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih persist - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands off the coast of Sabah, also claimed by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia; a small section of the Malaysia-Thailand boundary in the Kolok River remains in dispute
Economic aid - recipient	$408 million (2002 est.)	-
Economy - overview	Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. President KHATAMI has continued to follow the market reform plans of former President RAFSANJANI and has indicated that he will pursue diversification of Iran's oil-reliant economy although he has made little progress toward that goal. Relatively high oil prices in recent years have enabled Iran to amass some $15 billion in foreign exchange reserves, but have not solved Iran's structural economic problems, including high unemployment and inflation.	Malaysia, a middle-income country, transformed itself from 1971 through the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven by exports - particularly of electronics - and, as a result Malaysia was hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the Information Technology (IT) sector in 2001. GDP in 2001 grew only 0.5% due to an estimated 11% contraction in exports, but a substantial fiscal stimulus package mitigated the worst of the recession and the economy rebounded in 2002. Healthy foreign exchange reserves and relatively small external debt make it unlikely that Malaysia will experience a crisis similar to the one in 1997, but the economy remains vulnerable to a more protracted slowdown in Japan and the US, top export destinations and key sources of foreign investment.
Electricity - consumption	115.9 billion kWh (2001)	63.48 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	75 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	124.6 billion kWh (2001)	68.34 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 97.1% hydro: 2.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)	fossil fuel: 89.5% hydro: 10.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination); inadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial waste; urbanization	air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Ethnic groups	Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%	Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%, others 10% (2000)
Exchange rates	rials per US dollar 6,906.96 (2002), 1,753.56 (2001), 1,764.43 (2000), 1,752.93 (1999), 1,751.86 (1998) note: from 1997 to 2001, Iran had a multi-exchange-rate system; one of these rates, the official floating exchange rate, by which most essential goods were imported, averaged 1,750 rials per US dollar; in March 2002, the multi-exchange-rate system was converged into one rate at about 7,900 rials per US dollar	ringgits per US dollar - 3.8 (2002), 3.8 (2001), 3.8 (2000), 3.8 (1999), 3.92 (1998)
Executive branch	chief of state: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989) head of government: President (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani (since 3 August 1997); First Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza AREF-YAZDI (since 26 August 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the Supreme Leader has some control over appointments to the more sensitive ministries elections: leader of the Islamic Revolution appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 8 June 2001 (next to be held June 2005) election results: (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani reelected president; percent of vote - (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani 77%	chief of state: Paramount Ruler Tuanku SYED SIRAJUDDIN ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail, the Raja of Perlis (since 12 December 2001) head of government: Prime Minister ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi (since 31 October 2003); Deputy Prime Minister NA (since 31 October 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament with consent of the paramount ruler elections: paramount ruler elected by and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states for five-year terms; election last held 12 December 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins a plurality of seats in the House of Representatives becomes prime minister election results: Tuanku SYED SIRAJUDDIN ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail elected paramount ruler
Exports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals	electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals (2000)
Exports - partners	Japan 17.4%, China 8.6%, UAE 7.6%, Italy 6.6%, South Korea 4.9%, South Africa 4.4% (2002)	US 21%, Singapore 17.4%, Japan 10.9%, China 6.5%, Hong Kong 5%, Thailand 4% (2002)
Fiscal year	21 March - 20 March	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah in the shape of a tulip, a symbol of martyrdom) in red is centered in the white band; ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band	14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star; the crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the US
GDP	purchasing power parity - $458.3 billion (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $198.4 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 19% industry: 26% services: 55% (2002 est.)	agriculture: 12% industry: 40% services: 48% (2001)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	7.6% (2002 est.)	4.1% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	32 00 N, 53 00 E	2 30 N, 112 30 E
Geography - note	strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport	strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea
Heliports	13 (2002)	1 (2002)
Highways	total: 167,157 km paved: 94,109 km (including 890 km of expressways) unpaved: 73,048 km (1998)	total: 65,877 km paved: 49,935 km (including 1,192 km of expressways) unpaved: 15,942 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 1.7% highest 10%: 38.4% (1997 est.)
Illicit drugs	despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic narcotics consumption remains a persistent problem and Iranian press reports estimate at least 2 million drug users in the country	transit point for some illicit drugs; drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously and carries severe penalties
Imports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies	electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals (2000)
Imports - partners	Germany 10.9%, Italy 9%, France 7.9%, China 7.4%, South Korea 6.5%, UAE 4.4%, Japan 4.1%, Russia 4% (2002)	Japan 16.9%, Singapore 15.9%, US 15.5%, China 7.3%, South Korea 5%, Taiwan 4.7% (2002)
Independence	1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)	31 August 1957 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	5.5% excluding oil (2001 est.)	5% (2002 est.)
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments	Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging and processing timber; Sabah - logging, petroleum production; Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging
Infant mortality rate	total: 44.17 deaths/1,000 live births male: 44.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)	total: 19 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.97 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	15.3% (2002 est.)	1.9% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO	APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	100 (2002)	7 (2000)
Irrigated land	75,620 sq km (1998 est.)	3,650 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court	Federal Court (judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister)
Labor force	21 million note: shortage of skilled labor (1998)	9.9 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.)	local trade and tourism 28%, manufacturing 27%, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries 16%, services 10%, government 10%, construction 9% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 5,440 km border countries: Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km, Azerbaijan-proper 432 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km, Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km	total: 2,669 km border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km
Land use	arable land: 10.17% permanent crops: 1.16% other: 88.67% (1998 est.)	arable land: 5.54% permanent crops: 17.61% other: 76.85% (1998 est.)
Languages	Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%	Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest are Iban and Kadazan
Legal system	the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government	based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami (290 seats, note - changed from 270 seats with the 18 February 2000 election; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 18 February 2000 with a runoff held 5 May 2000 (next to be held February 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - reformers 189, conservatives 54, independents 42, seats reserved for religious minorities 5	bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of the Senate or Dewan Negara (69 seats; 43 appointed by the paramount ruler, 26 appointed by the state legislatures) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (193 seats; members elected by popular vote weighted toward the rural Malay population to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 29 November 1999 (next must be held by November 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - BN 56%, other 44%; seats by party - BN 148, PAS 27, DAP 10, Keadilan 5, PBS 3
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 69.35 years male: 68.04 years female: 70.73 years (2003 est.)	total population: 71.67 years male: 69.01 years female: 74.51 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 79.4% male: 85.6% female: 73% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.9% male: 92.4% female: 85.4% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan	Southeastern Asia, peninsula and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
Map references	Middle East	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: natural prolongation exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf territorial sea: 12 NM	continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	total: 139 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,190,576 GRT/7,276,700 DWT ships by type: bulk 43, cargo 34, chemical tanker 4, container 10, liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea passenger 1 (2002 est.)	total: 366 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,111,476 GRT/7,242,323 DWT ships by type: bulk 62, cargo 103, chemical tanker 37, container 69, liquefied gas 23, livestock carrier 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 55, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 8 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, China 1, Germany 2, Hong Kong 15, Indonesia 3, Japan 4, Monaco 1, Philippines 2, Singapore 78, South Korea 2, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Islamic Republic of Iran regular forces (includes Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Command), Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) (includes Ground Forces, Air Force, Navy, Qods [special operations], and Basij [Popular Mobilization Army] forces), Law Enforcement Forces	Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Police Field Force, Marine Police, Sarawak Border Scouts
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$9.7 billion (FY00)	$1.69 billion (FY00 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.1% (FY00)	2.03% (FY00)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 20,343,063 (2003 est.)	males age 15-49: 6,067,155 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 12,094,551 (2003 est.)	males age 15-49: 3,672,517 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	21 years of age (2003 est.)	21 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 870,711 (2003 est.)	males: 218,216 (2003 est.)
National holiday	Republic Day, 1 April (1979) note: additional holidays celebrated widely in Iran include Revolution Day, 11 February (1979); Noruz (New Year's Day), 21 March; Constitutional Monarchy Day, 5 August (1925)	Independence Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August (1957)
Nationality	noun: Iranian(s) adjective: Iranian	noun: Malaysian(s) adjective: Malaysian
Natural hazards	periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast	flooding, landslides, forest fires
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur	tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite
Net migration rate	-0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: does not reflect net flow of an unknown number of illegal immigrants from other countries in the region (2003 est.)
Pipelines	condensate/gas 212 km; gas 16,998 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,256 km; refined products 7,808 km (2003)	condensate 279 km; gas 5,047 km; oil 1,841 km; refined products 114 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders	a loose pro-reform coalition called the 2nd Khordad front achieved considerable success at elections to the sixth Majles in early 2000, and groups in the coalition include: Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF); Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran); Solidarity Party; Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO); and Militant Clerics Society (Ruhaniyun); a new apparently conservative group, the Builders of Islamic Iran, emerged at the local level in early 2003	ruling coalition parties: Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Party or PGRM [LIM Kheng Yaik]; Liberal Democratic Party (Parti Liberal Demokratik - Sabah) or LDP [CHONG Kah Kiat]; Malaysian Chinese Association (Persatuan China Malaysia) or MCA [LING Ong Ka Ting]; Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongresi India Malaysia) or MIC [S. Samy VELLU]; Parti Bangsa Dayak Sarawak or PBDS [Leo MOGGIE]; Parti Bersatu Sabah or PBS [Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan]; Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu or PBB [Patinggi Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud]; Sabah Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Sabah) or SAPP [YONG Teck Lee]; Sarawak United People's Party (Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sarawak) or SUPP [WONG Soon Kah]; United Malays National Organization or UMNO [ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi]; United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organization (Pertubuhan Pasko Momogun Kadazan Dusun Bersatu) or UPKO [leader NA]; opposition parties: Democratic Action Party (Parti Tindakan Demokratik) or DAP [KERK Kim Hock]; Islamic Party of Malaysia (Parti Islam se Malaysia) or PAS [Abdul HADI Awang]; National Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Nasional) or Keadilan [WAN AZIZAH Wan Ismael]; National Front (Barisan Nasional) or BN (the ruling coalition dominated by the UMNO and includes MCA, MIC, PGRM, PBDS, SUPP, PBB, PBS, LDP, SAPP, UPKO) [ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi]
Political pressure groups and leaders	active pro-reform student groups include the "Organization for Strengthening Unity"; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, Tehran Militant Clergy Association (Ruhaniyat), Islamic Coalition Association, and Islamic Engineers Society; opposition groups include Freedom Movement of Iran, the National Front, Marz-e Por Gohar, and various Monarchist organizations; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and Komala	NA
Population	68,278,826 (July 2003 est.)	23,092,940 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	40% (2002 est.)	8% (1998 est.)
Population growth rate	1.08% (2003 est.)	1.86% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war), Ahvaz, Bandar 'Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali, Bushehr, Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni, Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e Mahshahr, Bandar-e Torkaman, Chabahar (Bandar Beheshti), Jazireh-ye Khark, Jazireh-ye Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri, Khorramshahr (limited operation since November 1992), Now Shahr	Bintulu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuching, Kudat, Labuan, Lahad Datu, Lumut, Miri, Pasir Gudang, George Town (Penang), Port Dickson, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Sibu, Tanjung Berhala, Tanjung Kidurong, Tawau
Radio broadcast stations	AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)	AM 35, FM 391, shortwave 15 (2001)
Railways	total: 7,201 km broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: 7,107 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) (2002)	total: 2,418 km standard gauge: 57 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,361 km 1.000-m gauge (150 km electrified) (2002)
Religions	Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1%	Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 est.)	at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	15 years of age; universal	21 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: inadequate but currently being modernized and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently connected domestic: as a result of heavy investing in the telephone system since 1994, the number of long-distance channels in the microwave radio relay trunk has grown substantially; many villages have been brought into the net; the number of main lines in the urban systems has approximately doubled; and thousands of mobile cellular subscribers are being served; moreover, the technical level of the system has been raised by the installation of thousands of digital switches international: HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; satellite earth stations - 9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat	general assessment: modern system; international service excellent domestic: good intercity service provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave radio relay; adequate intercity microwave radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; domestic satellite system with 2 earth stations international: submarine cables to India, Hong Kong, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) (2001)
Telephones - main lines in use	6.313 million (1997)	4.6 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular	265,000 (August 1998)	5 million (2000)
Television broadcast stations	28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997)	1 (plus 15 high-power repeaters) (2001)
Terrain	rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts	coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Total fertility rate	1.99 children born/woman (2003 est.)	3.13 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	16.3% (2003 est.)	3.8% (2002 est.)
Waterways	904 km note: the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use	7,296 km note: Peninsular Malaysia 3,209 km, Sabah 1,569 km, Sarawak 2,518 km

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