Oman (2002) | Malaysia (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 regions (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah) and 2 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat, Musandam*, Zufar*; note - the US Embassy in Oman reports that Masqat is a governorate, but this has not been confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) | 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: 41.9% (male 579,065; female 556,923)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 914,494; female 597,948) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 34,555; female 30,477) (2002 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 | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper; timber |
Airports | 143 (2001) | 114 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 6
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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: 133
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 55 914 to 1,523 m: 37 under 914 m: 32 (2002) |
total: 79
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 72 (2002) |
Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 329,750 sq km
land: 328,550 sq km water: 1,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly larger than New Mexico |
Background | In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al Said ousted his father and has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a long-standing political and military relationship with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. | 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 | 37.76 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 23.7 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $9.2 billion
expenditures: $6.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $20.3 billion
expenditures: $27.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.4 billion (2001 est.) |
Capital | Muscat | Kuala Lumpur |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km) |
Constitution | none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a new basic law which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens | 31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963 |
Country name | conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman
conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Malaysia former: Federation of Malaysia |
Currency | Omani rial (OMR) | ringgit (MYR) |
Death rate | 4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.3 billion (2000 est.) | $47.5 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Lewis BALTIMORE III
embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: international: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 698989, extension 203 FAX: [968] 699771 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Ali AL KHUSAIBY
chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933 |
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 | Oman signed a boundary treaty with the UAE in 1999, but the completed boundary is not expected until the end of 2002; undefined segments of the Oman-UAE boundary remain with Ra's al-Khaymah and Ash Shariqah (Sharjah) emirates, including the Musandam Peninsula, where an administrative boundary substitutes for an international boundary | 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 | $76.4 million (1995) (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | Oman's economic performance improved significantly in 2000 due largely to the upturn in oil prices. The government is moving ahead with privatization of its utilities, the development of a body of commercial law to facilitate foreign investment, and increased budgetary outlays. Oman continues to liberalize its markets and joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in November 2000. GDP growth improved in 2001 despite the global slowdown. | 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 | 7.533 billion kWh (2000) | 63.48 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 75 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 8.1 billion kWh (2000) | 68.34 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 89.5%
hydro: 10.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | 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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%, others 10% (2000) |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986) | ringgits per US dollar - 3.8 (2002), 3.8 (2001), 3.8 (2000), 3.8 (1999), 3.92 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
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 | $10.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals (2000) |
Exports - partners | Japan 21%, Thailand 18%, China 16%, South Korea 12%, UAE 12%, US 3% (2001) | US 21%, Singapore 17.4%, Japan 10.9%, China 6.5%, Hong Kong 5%, Thailand 4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical 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 - $21.5 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $198.4 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 12%
industry: 40% services: 48% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.4% (2001 est.) | 4.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 2 30 N, 112 30 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 32,800 km
paved: 9,840 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,960 km (1996) |
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 | - | transit point for some illicit drugs; drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously and carries severe penalties |
Imports | $5.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals (2000) |
Imports - partners | UAE 23% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 13%, Italy 7%, Germany 5%, US 5% (2001) | Japan 16.9%, Singapore 15.9%, US 15.5%, China 7.3%, South Korea 5%, Taiwan 4.7% (2002) |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 31 August 1957 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper | 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 | 21.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 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) | 1% (2001 est.) | 1.9% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | 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) | 1 (2000) | 7 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 620 sq km (1998 est.) | 3,650 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has non-Islamic judges as well as traditional Islamic judges |
Federal Court (judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister) |
Labor force | 920,000 | 9.9 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | local trade and tourism 28%, manufacturing 27%, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries 16%, services 10%, government 10%, construction 9% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
total: 2,669 km
border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.08%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 5.54%
permanent crops: 17.61% other: 76.85% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | 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 | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 | bicameral Majlis Oman consists of an upper chamber or Majlis al-Dawla (48 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and a lower chamber or Majlis al-Shura (83 seats; members elected by limited suffrage for three-year term, however, the monarch makes final selections and can negate election results; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)
elections: last held NA September 2000 (next to be held NA September 2003) election results: NA; note - two women were elected for the first time to the Majlis al-Shura, about 100,000 people voted |
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: 72.31 years
male: 70.15 years female: 74.57 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 71.67 years
male: 69.01 years female: 74.51 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: approaching 80% male: NA% female: NA% |
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 Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | 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
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM 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: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,291 GRT/9,457 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Singapore 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 | Royal Omani Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Royal Omani Police | Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Police Field Force, Marine Police, Sarawak Border Scouts |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2,424.4 million (FY01) | $1.69 billion (FY00 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 12.2% (FY01) | 2.03% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 780,292 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 6,067,155 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 434,026 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 3,672,517 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 14 years of age (2002 est.) | 21 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 26,470 (2002 est.) | males: 218,216 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Independence Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August (1957) |
Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun: Malaysian(s)
adjective: Malaysian |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | flooding, landslides, forest fires |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite |
Net migration rate | 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 | crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km | condensate 279 km; gas 5,047 km; oil 1,841 km; refined products 114 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | none | NA |
Population | 2,713,462
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2002 est.) |
23,092,940 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 8% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.41% (2002 est.) | 1.86% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut | 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 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 35, FM 391, shortwave 15 (2001) |
Radios | 1.4 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 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 | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.53 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.29 male(s)/female (2002 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 | in Oman's most recent elections in 2000, limited to approximately 175,000 Omanis chosen by the government to vote in elections for the Majlis ash-Shura | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system consisting of open wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable
domestic: open wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat |
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 | 201,000 (1997) | 4.6 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 59,822 (1997) | 5 million (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 1 (plus 15 high-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | coastal plains rising to hills and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.13 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 3.8% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 7,296 km
note: Peninsular Malaysia 3,209 km, Sabah 1,569 km, Sarawak 2,518 km |