Jersey (2005) | Malaysia (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency) | 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, and Terengganu; and one federal territory (wilayah persekutuan) with three components, city of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.5% (male 8,222/female 7,658)
15-64 years: 67% (male 30,296/female 30,561) 65 years and over: 15.5% (male 6,176/female 7,899) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.3% (male 4,033,037; female 3,806,451)
15-64 years: 62.1% (male 7,326,068; female 7,289,783) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 469,499; female 597,644) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes; beef, dairy products | Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper; timber |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 117 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 38
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 79
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 72 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 116 sq km
land: 116 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 329,750 sq km
land: 328,550 sq km water: 1,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | about two-thirds the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than New Mexico |
Background | The island of Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway in both France and England. These islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. | During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation. 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 | 9.66 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 23.37 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $601 million
expenditures: $588 million, including capital expenditures of $98 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $22.95 billion
expenditures: $27.75 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.4 billion (2003 est.) |
Capital | Saint Helier | Kuala Lumpur
note: Putrajaya is referred to as administrative center not capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur |
Climate | temperate; mild winters and cool summers | tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons |
Coastline | 70 km | 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km) |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963 |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Jersey
conventional short form: Jersey |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Malaysia former: Federation of Malaysia |
Currency | - | ringgit (MYR) |
Death rate | 9.19 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | none | $48.84 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher J. LAFLEUR
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 (British crown dependency) | 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 | none | involved in complex dispute with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; disputes over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, maritime boundaries, and 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 1 kilometer segment at the mouth of the Golok River remains in dispute with Thailand; Philippines retains a now dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo based on the Sultanate of Sulu's granting the Philippines Government power of attorney to pursue the Sultanate's sovereignty claim; in 2003 Brunei and Malaysia ceased gas and oil exploration in their offshore and deepwater seabeds until negotiations progress to an agreement over allocation of disputed areas; Malaysia's land boundary with Brunei around Limbang is in dispute |
Economic aid - recipient | none | - |
Economy - overview | The Channel Island economy is based on international financial services, agriculture, and tourism. In 1996 the finance sector accounted for about 60% of the island's output. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and especially flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and represents an important export income earner. Milk products go to the UK and other EU countries. Tourism accounts for 24% of GDP. In recent years, the government has encouraged light industry to locate in Jersey, with the result that an electronics industry has developed alongside the traditional manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material and energy requirements are imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food needs. Light taxes and death duties make the island a popular tax haven. Living standards come close to those of the UK. | 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. As a result Malaysia was hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the information technology (IT) sector in 2001 and 2002. GDP in 2001 grew only 0.5% due to an estimated 11% contraction in exports, but a substantial fiscal stimulus package equal to US $1.9 billion mitigated the worst of the recession and the economy rebounded in 2002 with a 4.1% increase. The economy grew 4.9% in 2003, notwithstanding a difficult first half, when external pressures from SARS and the Iraq War led to caution in the business community. Healthy foreign exchange reserves and a 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. The Malaysian ringgit is pegged to the dollar, and the Japanese central bank continues to intervene and prop up the yen against the dollar. |
Electricity - consumption | 630.1 million kWh (2004 est.) | 68.4 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by France | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 75.33 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 143 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands |
Ethnic groups | Jersey 51.1%, British 34.8%, Irish, French, and other white 6.6%, Portuguese/Madeiran 6.4%, other 1.1% (2001 census) | Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%, others 10% (2000) |
Exchange rates | Jersey pounds per US dollar - 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001), 0.6609 (2000)
note: the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound |
ringgits per US dollar - 3.8 (2003), 3.8 (2002), 3.8 (2001), 3.8 (2000), 3.8 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief Air Chief Marshall Sir John CHESHIRE (since 24 January 2001) and Bailiff Philip Martin BAILHACHE (since NA February 1995) cabinet: committees appointed by the Assembly of the States elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor and bailiff appointed by the monarch |
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 NAJIB Tun Razak (since 7 January 2004) 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 | 230,200 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | light industrial and electrical goods, foodstuffs, textiles | electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals |
Exports - partners | UK | US 19.6%, Singapore 15.7%, Japan 10.7%, China 6.5%, Hong Kong 6.5%, Thailand 4.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | white with a diagonal red cross extending to the corners of the flag; in the upper quadrant, surmounted by a yellow crown, a red shield with the three lions of England in yellow | 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 14-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 - $207.8 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 2% services: 93% (1996) |
agriculture: 7.3%
industry: 33.5% services: 59.1% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $40,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.2% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 15 N, 2 10 W | 2 30 N, 112 30 E |
Geography - note | largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier | strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 577 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 39.2% (2003 est.) |
Illicit drugs | - | transit point for some illicit drugs; drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously and carries severe penalties |
Imports | $NA | NA (2003) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals | electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | UK | Japan 17.3%, US 15.5%, Singapore 11.9%, China 8.8%, South Korea 5.5%, Taiwan 5%, Germany 4.7%, Thailand 4.6% (2003) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 31 August 1957 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 9.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking and finance, dairy | 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: 5.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 18.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.23 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.3% (2004) | 1.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ABEDA, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 3,650 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff) | Federal Court (judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister) |
Labor force | 52,790 (2004) | 10.26 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 14.5%, industry 36%, services 49.5% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,669 km
border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 5.48%
permanent crops: 17.61% other: 76.91% (2001) |
Languages | English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census) | 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 | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court | 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 Assembly of the States (55 voting members - 12 senators (elected for 6-year terms), 12 constables or heads of parishes (elected for 3-year terms), 29 deputies (elected for 3-year terms); the bailiff and the deputy bailiff; and 3 non-voting members - the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General, and the Solicitor General all appointed by the monarch)
elections: last held NA (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 53 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlimen consists of the Senate or Dewan Negara (70 seats; 44 appointed by the paramount ruler, 26 appointed by the state legislatures) and the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (219 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 21 March 2004 (next must be held by 2009) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - BN 91%, DAP 5%, PAS 3%, other 1%; seats by party - BN 199, DAP 12, PAS 6, Keadilan 1, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.24 years
male: 76.77 years female: 81.91 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 71.95 years
male: 69.29 years female: 74.81 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.7% male: 92% female: 85.4% (2002) |
Location | Western Europe, island in the English Channel, northwest of France | Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam |
Map references | Europe | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea |
Merchant marine | - | total: 360 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,389,397 GRT/7,539,178 DWT
by type: bulk 59, cargo 100, chemical tanker 38, container 66, liquefied gas 25, livestock carrier 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 56, roll on/roll off 5, vehicle carrier 8 foreign-owned: China 1, Germany 2, Hong Kong 8, Indonesia 2, Japan 2, South Korea 1, Liberia 1, Monaco 1, Norway 1, Philippines 2, Singapore 81, Vietnam 1 registered in other countries: 75 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Marine Police, Sarawak Border Scouts |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.69 billion (FY00 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.03% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 6,193,587 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 3,746,960 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 223,466 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Independence Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August (1957) |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
noun: Malaysian(s)
adjective: Malaysian |
Natural hazards | NA | flooding, landslides, forest fires |
Natural resources | arable land | tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite |
Net migration rate | 2.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 279 km; gas 5,047 km; oil 1,841 km; refined products 114 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | ruling-coalition National Front (Barisan Nasional) or BN, consisting of the following parties: Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Party or PGRM [LIM Keng Yaik]; Liberal Democratic Party (Parti Liberal Demokratik - Sabah) or LDP [CHONG Kah Kiat]; Malaysian Chinese Association (Persatuan China Malaysia) or MCA [ONG Ka Ting]; Malaysian Indian Congress (Kongresi India Malaysia) or MIC [S. Samy VELLU]; Parti Bersatu Pakyat Sabah or PBRS [Joseph KURUP]; Parti Bersatu Sabah or PBS [Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan]; Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu or PBB [Patinggi Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud]; Parti Rakyat Sarawak or PRS [James MASING]; Sabah Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Sabah) or SAPP [YONG Teck Lee]; Sarawak United People's Party (Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sarawak) or SUPP [George CHAN Hong Nam]; United Malays National Organization or UMNO [ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi]; United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organization (Pertubuhan Pasko Momogun Kadazan Dusun Bersatu) or UPKO [Bernard DOMPOK]; People's Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Penduduk Malaysia) or PPP [M.Keyveas]; Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party or SPDP [William MAWANI]; opposition parties: Democratic Action Party (Parti Tindakan Demokratik) or DAP [KARPAL Singh]; Islamic Party of Malaysia (Parti Islam se Malaysia) or PAS [Abdul HADI Awang]; People's Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) or PKR [WAN AZIZAH Wan Ismael]; Sarawak National Party or SNAP [Edwin DANDUNG]; opposition coalition Alternative Front (Barisan Alternatif) or BA consists of PAS and PKR |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 90,812 (July 2005 est.) | 23,522,482 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 8% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.32% (2005 est.) | 1.83% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gorey, Saint Aubin, Saint Helier | 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 NA, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 35, FM 391, shortwave 15 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 2,418 km (207 km electrified)
standard gauge: 57 km 1.435-m gauge (57 km electrified) narrow gauge: 2,361 km 1.000-m gauge (150 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational New Church, Methodist, Presbyterian | Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 3 submarine cables |
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: country code - 60; 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 | 73,900 (2001) | 4,571,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 61,400 (2001) | 11,124,100 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (plus 15 high-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast | coastal plains rising to hills and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.57 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.1 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.9% (2004 est.) | 3.6% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | - | 7,200 km
note: Peninsular Malaysia 3,200 km, Sabah 1,500 km, Sarawak 2,500 km (2004) |