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Malaysia |
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Background:
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Malaysia was formed in 1963 through a merging 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 in 1965. |
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Location:
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Southeastern Asia, peninsula and northern one-third
of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and the
South China Sea, south of Vietnam |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than New Mexico |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,669 km
border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia
1,782 km, Thailand 506 km |
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Nationality:
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noun: Malaysian(s)
adjective: Malaysian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Malay
and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%,
others 10% (2000) |
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Religions:
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Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh;
note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East
Malaysia |
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Languages:
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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 of
which are Iban and Kadazan |
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Currency:
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ringgit (MYR)
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Currency code:
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MYR
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Exchange rates:
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ringgits per US dollar - 3.8000 (January 2002),
3.8000 (2001), 3.8000 (2000), 3.8000 (1999), 3.9244
(1998), 2.8133 (1997) |
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