Tajikistan (2001) | Malaysia (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 2 oblasts (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and one autonomous oblast* (viloyati mukhtori); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* (Khorugh - formerly Khorog), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa - formerly Kurgan-Tyube), Viloyati Leninobod (Khujand - formerly Leninabad)
note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses |
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:
41.18% (male 1,367,194; female 1,341,967) 15-64 years: 54.22% (male 1,773,605; female 1,793,345) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 131,009; female 171,561) (2001 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 | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats | Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper; timber |
Airports | 53 (2000 est.) | 117 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 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:
51 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
total: 79
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 72 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
143,100 sq km land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 329,750 sq km
land: 328,550 sq km water: 1,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Wisconsin | slightly larger than New Mexico |
Background | Tajikistan has experienced three changes in government and a five-year civil war since it gained independence in 1991 from the USSR. A peace agreement among rival factions was signed in 1997, and implementation reportedly completed by late 1999. Part of the agreement required the legalization of opposition political parties prior to the 1999 elections, which occurred, but such parties have made little progress in successful participation in government. Random criminal and political violence in the country remains a complication impairing Tajikistan's ability to engage internationally. | 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 | 33.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.37 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$146 million expenditures: $196 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $22.95 billion
expenditures: $27.75 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.4 billion (2003 est.) |
Capital | Dushanbe | Kuala Lumpur
note: Putrajaya is referred to as administrative center not capital; Parliament meets in Kuala Lumpur |
Climate | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains | tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km) |
Constitution | 6 November 1994 | 31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Tajikistan conventional short form: Tajikistan local long form: Jumhurii Tojikiston local short form: none former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Malaysia former: Federation of Malaysia |
Currency | somoni | ringgit (MYR) |
Death rate | 8.57 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1999 est.) | $48.84 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Robert P. J. FINN embassy: temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in Almaty (Kazakhstan) mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: NA FAX: NA |
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 | Tajikistan does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a permanent mission to the UN: address - 136 East 67th Street, New York, NY 10021, telephone - [1] (212) 472-7645, FAX - [1] (212) 628-0252; permanent representative to the UN is Rashid ALIMOV | 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 | portions of Tajikistan's northern and western border with Uzbekistan and its eastern border with China have not been officially demarcated; territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara Valley area | 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 | $64.7 million (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | Tajikistan has the lowest per capita GDP among the 15 former Soviet republics. Cotton is the most important crop. Mineral resources, varied but limited in amount, include silver, gold, uranium, and tungsten. Industry consists only of a large aluminum plant, hydropower facilities, and small obsolete factories mostly in light industry and food processing. The Tajikistani economy has been gravely weakened by six years of civil conflict and by the loss of subsidies from Moscow and of markets for its products. Most of its people live in abject poverty. Tajikistan depends on aid from Russia and Uzbekistan and on international humanitarian assistance for much of its basic subsistence needs. The future of Tajikistan's economy and the potential for attracting foreign investment depend upon stability and continued progress in the peace process. | 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 | 14.729 billion kWh (1999) | 68.4 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 3.9 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 4.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 15.623 billion kWh (1999) | 75.33 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
1.9% hydro: 98.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Syrdariya 300 m highest point: Pik Imeni Ismail Samani 7,495 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides; part of the basin of the shrinking Aral Sea suffers from severe overutilization of available water for irrigation and associated pollution | 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, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration), other 6.6% | Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%, others 10% (2000) |
Exchange rates | Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 2.2 (January 2001), 1550 (January 2000), 998 (January 1999), 350 (January 1997), 284 (January 1996)
note: the new unit of exchange was introduced on 30 October 2000, with one somoni equal to 1,000 of the old Tajikistani rubles |
ringgits per US dollar - 3.8 (2003), 3.8 (2002), 3.8 (2001), 3.8 (2000), 3.8 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Emomali RAHMONOV (since 6 November 1994; head of state and Supreme Assembly chairman since 19 November 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Oqil OQILOV (since 20 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Emomali RAHMONOV elected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMONOV 97%, Davlat USMON 2% |
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 | $761 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 230,200 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles | electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals |
Exports - partners | Liechtenstein 26%, Uzbekistan 20%, Russia 8% (1998) | US 19.6%, Singapore 15.7%, Japan 10.7%, China 6.5%, Hong Kong 6.5%, Thailand 4.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of white, and green; a gold crown surmounted by seven gold, five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe | 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 - $7.3 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $207.8 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
19.8% industry: 18.1% services: 62.1% (1998) |
agriculture: 7.3%
industry: 33.5% services: 59.1% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,140 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2000 est.) | 5.2% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 71 00 E | 2 30 N, 112 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total:
29,900 km paved: 21,400 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 8,500 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
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 | major transshipment zone for heroin and opiates from Afghanistan going to Russia and Western Europe; limited illicit cultivation of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption | transit point for some illicit drugs; drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously and carries severe penalties |
Imports | $782 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2003) |
Imports - commodities | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs | electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Europe 32.3%, Uzbekistan 29%, Russia 13.6% (1998) | 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 | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 31 August 1957 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 10% (2000 est.) | 9.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers | 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 | 116.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) | 33% (2000 est.) | 1.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM, ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 6,390 sq km (1993 est.) | 3,650 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | Federal Court (judges appointed by the paramount ruler on the advice of the prime minister) |
Labor force | 1.9 million (1996) | 10.26 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry 20%, services 30% (1997 est.) | agriculture 14.5%, industry 36%, services 49.5% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,651 km border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km |
total: 2,669 km
border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 4% other: 65% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 5.48%
permanent crops: 17.61% other: 76.91% (2001) |
Languages | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business | 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 civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | 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 Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the Assembly of Representatives (lower chamber) or Majlisi Namoyandagon (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and National Assembly (upper chamber) or Majlisi Milliy (33 seats; members are indirectly elected, 25 selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; all to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 February and 12 March 2000 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held NA 2005) and 23 March 2000 for the National Assembly (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Assembly of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDPT 65%, Communist Party 20%, Islamic Rebirth Party 7.5%, other 7.5%; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
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:
64.18 years male: 61.09 years female: 67.42 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.95 years
male: 69.29 years female: 74.81 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.7% male: 92% female: 85.4% (2002) |
Location | Central Asia, west of China | 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 | Commonwealth of Independent States | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | 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 branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Presidential National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) | Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Marine Police, Sarawak Border Scouts |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $17 million (FY97) | $1.69 billion (FY00 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY97) | 2.03% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,586,700 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 6,193,587 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,300,252 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 3,746,960 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
72,056 (2001 est.) |
males: 223,466 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 9 September (1991) | Independence Day/Malaysia Day, 31 August (1957) |
Nationality | noun:
Tajikistani(s) adjective: Tajikistani |
noun: Malaysian(s)
adjective: Malaysian |
Natural hazards | NA | flooding, landslides, forest fires |
Natural resources | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold | tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite |
Net migration rate | -3.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 | natural gas 400 km (1992) | condensate 279 km; gas 5,047 km; oil 1,841 km; refined products 114 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Congress of People's Unity of Tajikistan [Saiffidin TURAYEV]; Democratic Party or TDP [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV, chairman]; Islamic Rebirth Party [Muhammadsharif HIMMAT-ZODA, chairman]; Lali Badakhshan Movement [Atobek AMIRBEKOV]; National Movement Party [Hakim MUHHABATOV]; Party of Justice and Development [Rahmatullo ZOIROV]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Rastokhez (Rebirth) Movement [Tohiri ABDUJABBOR]; Socialist Party [Sherali KENJAEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV]; Adolatho "Justice" Party [Abdurahmon KARIMOV, chairman] | 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 | NA | NA |
Population | 6,578,681 (July 2001 est.) | 23,522,482 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (2000 est.) | 8% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.12% (2001 est.) | 1.83% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | 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 9, FM 6, shortwave 5 (1998) | AM 35, FM 391, shortwave 15 (2001) |
Radios | 1.291 million (1991) | - |
Railways | total:
480 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines (1990) |
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 | Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 5% | 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: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 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 | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not reached by the national network domestic: cable and microwave radio relay international: linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by Intelsat to international gateway switch in Ankara (Turkey); satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 2 Intelsat |
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 | 363,000 (1997) | 4,571,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,500 (1997) | 11,124,100 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (there are, however, repeaters that relay programs from Russia, Iran, and Turkey) (1997) | 1 (plus 15 high-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | Pamir and Alay mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest | coastal plains rising to hills and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.1 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers and unregistered unemployed people (December 1998) | 3.6% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | 7,200 km
note: Peninsular Malaysia 3,200 km, Sabah 1,500 km, Sarawak 2,500 km (2004) |