33 Immense Facts About Malaysia

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. It is a federation that has 13 states. It is divided into two parts by the South China Sea. Its mainland is on the Malay Peninsula. Malaysia is a multicultural society. The main ethnic groups are the native Malays as well as large populations of Chinese and Indians.

1. Malaysia shares land borders with Brunei, Indonesia, and Thailand and shares maritime boundaries with the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.
2. The country was under British rule for over 131 years, from 1826 to 1957. On August 31, 1957, it finally got independence from the Britishers and became an independent country.
3. August 31 is celebrated as the national day of Malaysia and is called Hari Merdeka.
4. The national sport of the country is Football.
5. Mulu caves of Malaysia is the largest cave chamber by surface area on the globe. It is located on the islands of Borneo.

   

6. Malaysia has an unusual and unique constitutional monarchy, where the top job rotates between nine hereditary state rulers every five years. The king is known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is largely ceremonial, and does not participate in daily governance.
7. The country is composed of two noncontagious regions: Peninsular Malaysia (Semenanjung Malaysia), also called West Malaysia; the other is on the Malay Peninsula, also known as the East Malaysia (Malaysia Timur) which is on the island of Borneo.
8. The national flower of Malaysia is Hibiscus.
9. The country has 4 UNESCO world heritage sites, out of which two are cultural, and two are natural.
10. The Petronas Towers of Kuala Lumpur are the highest building in Malaysia and the world’s highest twin towers. It has a height of 451.8 meters (1,482 ft) and has 88 floors.

    

11. Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain peak in Malaysia, with an elevation of 4,095 meters(13,435 ft). It is located in the Kadamaian region of Kota Belud District.
12. Malaysia is a multicultural and multi-confessional country whose official religion is Islam. The religious breakdown of the country is: 61.3% follow Islam, 19.8% practice Buddhism, 9.2 percent follow Christianity, 6.3 percent follow Hinduism, and 3.4 percent are of Chinese religions.
13. Malaysia has around 878 islands, out of which some popular islands are Langkawi, Perhentian Islands, Redang Island, and Pangkor. Banggi Island being the biggest, with an area of 440.7 square kilometers.
14. The current flag of Malaysia was first raised on September 16, 1963, and was made by a 29-year-old architect working for the Public Works Department (JKR). Prior to the national flag, each state of Malaya had its own flag, many of which are unchanged.
15. The National Bird of Malaysia is Rhinoceros Hornbill. Whereas the national animal is the Malayan Tiger which is endangered.

    

16. Malaysia is one of the top ten countries for medical tourism.
17. About 20,456,000 hectares, or 62.3% of the total land of Malaysia is forested. Out of which, 59% to 70% are tropical rainforests.
18. Malaysia has the world’s fifth-largest mangrove forest area, which totals over half a million hectares (over 1.2 million acres).
19. There around 48 species of snakes found on Malaysian land. About 35% or 17 species of snakes are venomous. And 10 are highly venomous snakes.
20. Nasi lemak is a common dish in southeast Asia, and Malaysia claims it as its own. It is also believed to be their unofficial national dish. The country also do have a national drink which is tea, or in the local language, it is called The Tarik.

    

21. The country comes on the 10th spot in terms of most reptile species. It is estimated that about 486 species of reptiles live here.
22. The country has a spot in the world’s 17 most mega diverse countries.
23. Till August 9, 1965, Singapore was a part of Malaysia.
24. There are 30 national parks in the country. Taman Negara National Park, which is also a rain forest, is the largest national park with total coverage of 4,344 Km.

    

25. Malaysia has 189 river basins, out of which 89 are in Peninsular Malaysia, 78 are in Sabah, and 22 rivers are in Sarawak. All the rivers originate and flow from the highlands.
26. The country’s age structure comprises 27.48% people of 0-14 years, 16.74% of 15-24 years, 40.97% of 25-54 years of age, 8.46% are of 55-64 years, and 6.35% are above the age of 65.
27. Malaysia is the world’s 26th most complex economy on the planet earth.
28. The durian is the world’s smelliest fruit the world is grown in Malaysia.

    

29. The top 5 exports of the nation are:
    • Integrated Circuits ($55.5 Billion).
    • Refined Petroleum ($19.1 Billion).
    • Petroleum Gas ($11.4 Billion).
    • Crude Petroleum ($10.4 Billion).
    • Palm Oil ($9.28 Billion).
30. The top 5 imports of Malaysia are:
    • Integrated Circuits ($29.6 Billion).
    • Refined Petroleum ($20.4 Billion ).
    • Crude Petroleum ($6.97 Billion).
    • Office Machine Parts ($3.93 Billion).
    • Broadcasting Equipment ($3.85 Billion).
31. Only 2.6845 % of the total land of Malaysia is arable.
32. The number four is often avoided in Malaysia, and some buildings in the country replaced “4th Floor” to 3A, and house address 44 and 4 to 43A and 3A.). This is done because number “4” has a similar tone to the Chinese character for “death.”
33. Christ Church Melaka is the oldest building in Malaysia and was started construction in 1741 and completed in 1753.