Head of state, prime minister: King Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud
Head of state : Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin
Population
26,534,504
29,179,952
Life Expectancy
74.350 years
74.040 years
Capital City
Riyadh
Kuala Lumpur
Largest city
Riyadh (population: 4,205,960)
Kuala Lumpur (population: 1,453,980)
Human Development Index
0.835
0.823
GDP per capita
$24,500 US
$15,800 US
Literacy Rate
78.8%
88.7%
Corruption Perception Index
3.5
5.1
Percentage of Women in Parliament
0%
14.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud ($13.3bn US)
Ananda Krishnan ($7.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
10.900%
3.100%
Death Penalty
Legal
Legal
Political System
monarchy
constitutional monarchy note: nominally headed by paramount ruler (commonly referred to as the King) and a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected lower house; all Peninsular Malaysian states have hereditary rulers (commonly referred to as sultans) except Melaka and Pulau Pinang (Penang); those two states along with Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia have governors appointed by government; powers of state governments are limited by federal constitution; under terms of federation, Sabah and Sarawak retain certain constitutional prerogatives (e.g., right to maintain their own immigration controls)
Independence date
23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom)
31 August 1957 (from UK)
Religions
Muslim 100%
Muslim 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%, other or unknown 1.5%, none 0.8% (2000 census)
Languages
Arabic
Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan
Exports
petroleum and petroleum products 90%
electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals
External Debt
$105,900,000,000 $
$87,810,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Saudi riyals (SAR) per US dollar - 3.75 (2008 est.), 3.745 (2007), 3.745 (2006), 3.747 (2005), 3.75 (2004)
ringgits (MYR) per US dollar - 3.33 (2008 est.), 3.46 (2007), 3.6683 (2006), 3.8 (2005), 3.8 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
10.000%
2.030%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
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
Area
2,149,690 km sq
329,847 km sq
Coastline
2,640 km
4,675 km
Climate
harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes
tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
