Population

1. Population: 30,073,353 (July 2014 est)
2. Ethnic Groups: Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, Indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, Others 7.8% (2004 est.)

Geography

1. Area: 329,847 sq km
2. Separated by the South China Sea into Peninsular Malaysia & East Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak)
3. Consists of 13 states and 3 Federal Territories

Government

1. Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy and the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong (commonly referred to as “the King”, is the Head of the nation. 
2. The Government of the day is Barisan Nasional (National Front Coalition) consisting of 13 component parties and led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). 
3. Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia while Putrajaya is the heart of the administration of the Federal Government.

Religion

Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. Other religions are also widely practised by its multi-racial society.

1. Muslim 60.4%
2. Buddhist 19.2%
3. Christian 9.1%
4. Hindu 6.3%
5. Confucianism, Taoism and other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%
6. Other or unknown 1.5%
7. None 0.8% (2000 census)

Currency

1. The monetary unit of the country is Ringgit Malaysia and is written as RM or MYR
2. Exchange rate: USD1 = RM4.20 as at October 2015 (average rate)
3. Notes denominations: RM1, RM5, RM10, RM20, RM50, RM100
4. Coins denominations: 5, 10, 20 and 50 sen (cents)
5. Foreign currencies can be exchanged at banks and money changers
6. View the latest exchange rates here: www.xe.com

Time

1. + 8hrs ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and +16 hours of United States Standard Time

Climate

1. Tropical rainforest climate
2. Warm and sunny all year round
3. Average daily temperature: Day 32ºC (90ºF). Night 24ºC (75ºF)
4. Annual rainfall: from 2,000 mm to 2,500 mm
5. Suitable for cycling, jungle trails, mountain hiking, water sports, and golfing
6. Highland residential areas and resorts have permanent spring-like weather throughout the country

Economy

1. Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, which is relatively open and state-oriented
2. In 2012, the economy of Malaysia was the third largest in Southeast Asia and the GDP growth was 5.1 percent
3. Malaysia is one of the leading exporters of electrical appliances, electronic parts and components, palm oil, petroleum and natural gas
4. Malaysia is also externally competitive, ranking 12th out of 135 economies in the World Bank in 2013 (Doing Business 2013 report)
5. Malaysia's tourism sector contributed over RM47 billion to the Gross National Income (GNI) in 2012 and became a key pillar to the country's aspiration to be a high-income nation by 2020
6. The industry experienced a remarkable growth and evolved to become one of the country's fastest growing economic powerhouses, contributing RM60.6 billion in tourist receipts, with tourist arrivals registering at 25.03 million in 2012

Public Holidays

1. New Year’s Day
2. Chinese New Year
3. Hari Raya Aidil Fitri
4. National Day
5. Hari Raya Aidil Adha
6. Awal Muharam
7. Deepavali
8. Christmas Day

Electricity

1. Voltage is 220 - 240 Volt AC at 50 cycles per second. Malaysia uses standard 3-pin square plugs and sockets.

Weight & Measurement

1. Malaysia follows the metric system for weight and measurement.

Telecommunications

1. Local calls can be made from public phones using coins or prepaid cards. International calls can also be made using phone cards or at any Telekom Malaysia office.