Country · Asia
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in South-Eastern Asia. About 31.5 million people live there, in an area of 330 803 square kilometres. Its capital city is Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia's capital, but the government works in Putrajaya, a city built for the purpose.
Picture credit: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · Marcin Konsek (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Marcin Konsek (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Malaysia?
Malaysia lies in South-Eastern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 278 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 4 675 km long.
It shares a border with 3 countries: Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand.
How big is Malaysia?
Malaysia covers 330 803 square kilometres.
That is about 8 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 67th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 95.3 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Malaysia?
About 31.5 million people live in Malaysia.
That is the 44th biggest population in the world.
People here speak English and Malay.
They pay with the Malaysian ringgit (RM).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 71 years.
The land of Malaysia
The land of Malaysia sits on average 538 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 4 675 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 234 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Malaysia different?
Dishes the country is known for: Nasi lemak, Satay and Laksa.
Websites from here often end in .my.
Malaysia and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 4 live in Malaysia.
It takes up about 0.25 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 20th of 46 by size, and 18th by population.
Malaysia and its neighbours
Indonesia, its largest neighbour, is about 5.8 times bigger.
Indonesia has more people: 267.7 million against 31.5 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 13 live wild in Malaysia: Tiger, Orangutan, Saltwater crocodile, King cobra, Reticulated python, Stick insect and more. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Kinabalu, at 4 095 metres. The longest river in the country is the Rajang. The largest lake in the country is Loagan Bunut.
Tiger
Orangutan
Saltwater crocodile
King cobra
Reticulated python
Stick insect
Giant clam
Mudskipper
Sun bear
Siamese fighting fish
Red lionfish
Proboscis monkey
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Malaysia compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 28 times as big as Malaysia: 9 372 610 km² against 330 803 km².
- Malaysia is about 1.4 times as big as the United Kingdom: 330 803 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Malaysia?
The capital of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur.
How many people live in Malaysia?
About 31.5 million people live in Malaysia, which makes it the 44th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Malaysia?
How big is Malaysia?
Malaysia covers 330 803 square kilometres, making it the 67th largest country in the world. That is about 8 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Malaysia?
The highest mountain in Malaysia is Mount Kinabalu, 4 095 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Malaysia?
The longest river in Malaysia is the Rajang, about 565 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Malaysia?
The largest lake in Malaysia is Loagan Bunut. It covers about 7 km².
Which continent is Malaysia in?
Malaysia is in Asia, in the part called South-Eastern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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