Profile of Malaysia

General Information
Capital	Kuala Lumpur
Population	22.2 Million (2000)
Area	329,749 sq km
Official Languages	Malay
Currency	Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 1 Ringgit = 100 sen
Main Cities	Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Georgetown, Petaling Jaya, Putrajaya
Government
Form	Federal constitutional monarchy
Independent	31 August 1957
Head of State	Monarch (elected every 5 years)
Head of Government	Prime Minister
Legislature	Two legislative houses (Senate and House of Representatives)
Executive	Prime Minister and Cabinet
Judiciary	Supreme Court (highest court)
Political Division	13 states, 2 federal territories
National Economy
Gross National Product	US$ 73,929,000,000 RM 295.8 Billion (2000)
Per Capital Income	US$ 3,349 RM 12,724 (2000)
Agriculture	Rice, coconuts, natural rubber, palm kernels, sugar cane, bananas, pepper
Livestock	Pigs, chickens, cattle
Fisheries	1,306,000 metric tons
Mining	Bauxite, iron ore, copper ore, tin, crude petroleum
Industries	Rubber & oil palm processing & manufacturing, light manufacturing industries, electronics, tin mining, smelting, petroleum production, logging
Main Exports	Electronics, electrical machinery & appliances, petroleum products, palm oil, wood products, rubber products, textiles, clothing and footwear
Transportation	1806 km railroads, 92,545 km roads, 5 major airports
Trading Partners	United States, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Taiwan
People
Urban	51%
Ethnic Composition	Malay and other indigenous peoples (59%); Chinese (32%); Indian (9%)
Birth Rate	24.4 per 1000 population
Death Rate	4.4 per 1000 population
Infant Mortality	7.9 per 1000 live births
Life Expectancy	69.8 years - males; 74.8 years - females