Malaysia boasts one of south-east Asia's most vibrant economies, the fruit of decades of industrial growth and political stability.
Its multi-ethnic, multi-religious society encompasses a majority Muslim population in most of its states and an economically-powerful Chinese community.
Overview
Consisting of two regions separated by some 640 miles of the South China Sea, Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories.
It is one of the region's key tourist destinations, offering excellent beaches and brilliant scenery. Dense rainforests in the eastern states of Sarawak and Sabah, on the island of Borneo, are a refuge for wildlife and tribal traditions.
Malaysia made the transformation from a farm-based economy
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Ethnic Malays comprise some 60% of the population. Chinese constitute around 26%; Indians and indigenous peoples make up the rest. The communities coexist in relative harmony, although there is little racial interaction.
Although since 1971 Malays have benefited from positive discrimination in business, education and the civil service, ethnic Chinese continue to hold economic power and are the wealthiest community. The Malays remain the dominant group in politics while the Indians are among the poorest.
Malaysia's economic prospects remain healthy, although it faces fierce competition from its neighbours, and from China and India.
Free trade talks were opened with the US, but the US has said it will not be able to conclude a deal in 2007 as the two sides failed to meet a deadline to secure a deal before President George W Bush's fast-track trade authority expired in June.
The country is among the world's biggest producers of computer disk drives, palm oil, rubber and timber. It has a state-controlled car maker, Proton, and tourism has considerable room for expansion.
But it also faces serious challenges - politically, in the form of sustaining stability in the face of religious differences and the ethnic wealth gap, and, environmentally, in preserving its valuable forests.
Malaysia's human rights record has come in for international criticism. Internal security laws allow suspects to be detained without charge or trial.
Facts
- Full name: Federation of Malaysia
- Population: 26.6 million (UN, 2007)
- Capital: Kuala Lumpur
- Area: 329,847 sq km (127,355 sq miles)
- Major languages: Malay (official), English, Chinese dialects, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam
- Major religions: Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism
- Life expectancy: 72 years (men), 77 years (women)
- Monetary unit: 1 ringgit = 100 sen
- Main exports:
Electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, chemicals, palm oil, wood and wood products, rubber, textiles
- GNI per capita:
US $6,540 (World Bank, 2007)
- Internet domain: .my
- International dialling code: +60
Leaders
Head of state: Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin
Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin was installed as Malaysia's 13th king in December 2006.
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Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin's role is mainly ceremonial
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The sultan is a former ruler of oil-rich Terengganu state. He was 44 when he was sworn in.
The king's role is largely ceremonial, although he is nominal head of the armed forces and all laws and the appointment of every cabinet minister require his assent.
Under Malaysia's constitutional monarchy, the position of king is rotated every five years between each of the nine hereditary state rulers.
Malaysia's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, himself a prince, devised the system after independence in 1957 to spread power among the sultans and rajas who had ruled over fiefdoms on the Malay peninsula for hundreds of years.
Prime minister: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi succeeded Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister in October 2003, when Asia's longest-serving elected leader retired after 22 years in power.
Mr Badawi began a second, five-year term in March 2004 after his coalition government won a landslide victory in parliamentary and regional elections.
PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
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However, his National Front coalition suffered its worst election result in decades in early elections held in March 2008. It lost its two thirds parliamentary majority and control of five state assemblies.
The PM's reputation never recovered from the blow, and in October 2008 he announced that he would step down next March, effectively handing control of the ruling coalition to his deputy, Najib Razak.
In contrast to his predecessor, Mr Abdullah has been described as self-effacing. He has been called the "Mr Nice Guy" of Malaysian politics.
Mr Abdullah was born in 1939 in Penang. His father was a founding member of United Malays National Organisation (Umno), Malaysia's ruling party. After gaining a degree in Islamic studies he worked in the civil service before being elected to parliament in 1978.
Malaysia has been ruled by a coalition, Barisan Nasional (National Front), since independence. Umno is the biggest grouping in the alliance, which also includes the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).
Media
Malaysia has some of the toughest censorship laws in the world. The authorities exert substantial control over the media and can impose restrictions in the name of national security.
Malaysian media tycoon Tiong Hiew King reads a copy of the Chinese-language daily Nanyang Siang Pau
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The government is keen to insulate the largely-Muslim population from what it considers harmful foreign influences on TV. News is subject to censorship, entertainment shows and music videos regularly fall foul of the censors, and scenes featuring swearing and kissing are routinely removed from TV programmes and films.
The TV sector comprises commercial networks and pay-TV operations. Around a quarter of TV households subscribe to the Astro multichannel service. Pay-TV operators MiTV and Fine TV entered the market in 2005. TV3 is a leading national private, terrestrial broadcaster.
State-owned Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) operates two TV networks and many of the country's radio services. Private stations are on the air, broadcasting in Malay, Tamil, Chinese and English.
Newspapers must renew their publication licences annually, and the home minister can suspend or revoke publishing permits.
Some web sites, such as Laman Reformasi, close to former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, freeMalaysia and Malaysiakini, have attracted official criticism.
The press
Television
Radio
News agency
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