Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Malaysia: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna grade (MBB, ranked #42 of 195).
Malaysia — in Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam. Political status: federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The country's capital is Kuala Lumpur; it covers 329,847 sq km. Independence: 31 August 1957 (from the UK). Terrain: coastal plains rising to hills and mountains. Climate: tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons. Population: 34.9 million (2025 estimate). Population growth: +0.97% per year. Median age: 32.2 years. Life expectancy: 76.6 years (2024 est.). Languages: Bahasa Malaysia (official), Englis…
| Capital | Kuala Lumpur |
|---|---|
| Population | 34,905,275 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $1.212 trillion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $34,100 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 5.1% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 1.8% |
| Unemployment | 3.9% |
| Public debt | 64.3% of GDP (2023 est.) |
| Exports | $301.789 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $279.09 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 76.6 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 32.2 |
| Urbanization | 78.7% of total population (2023) |
| Government | federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Independence | 31 August 1957 (from the UK) |
| Languages | Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai |
MBB · 58/100 — The Magna grade is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum +2 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
The growth run continued — first-half figures stayed strong on trade and a firm ringgit — keeping Malaysia among Asia's outperformers.
Political steadiness under Anwar added the calm. A modestly positive quarter, earned on the data.
Tin, Oil, Timber, Copper, Iron ore, Natural gas, Bauxite.
Anwar Ibrahim — Prime Minister. King Sultan IBRAHIM ibni al-Marhum Sultan Iskandar (since 31 January 2024)
Malaysia maintains 106 embassies abroad, hosts 101 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to ASEAN Jakarta, UN New York, UN Geneva, UNESCO Paris. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 106 |
|---|---|
| Foreign missions hosted | 101 |
| Multilateral missions | ASEAN Jakarta, UN New York, UN Geneva, UNESCO Paris |
Source: Lowy Institute Global Diplomacy Index 2024 (released 2024-02-25), https://globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/; Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions in Malaysia'
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 4675 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 100 + 24 heliports (registration prefix 9M) |
| Major seaports | Johor, Kota Kinabalu, Port Dickson, Port Klang, Pulau Pinang, Tanjung Pelepas, Tapis Marine Terminal A |
| Railways | 1851 km |
Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) — Kota Kinabalu; Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) — Sepang; Kuching International Airport (KCH) — Kuching; Langkawi International Airport (LGK) — Langkawi; Penang International Airport (PEN) — Penang; Senai International Airport (JHB) — Johor Bahru; Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah International Airport (SZB) — Subang; Sultan Azlan Shah Airport (IPH) — Ipoh; Bario Airport (BBN) — Bario; Bintulu Airport (BTU) — Bintulu.
Showing 10 of 15 major airports.
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28)
| Political system | federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
|---|---|
| Last election | 2022 — general; 2022-11-19; winner: Anwar Ibrahim (Pakatan Harapan (PH)); Ended Malaysia's 2020-2022 political crisis; first PM chosen via King's discretion in hung parliament Reuters / Frontline |
| Next election | 2027 — general (scheduled) |
Source: constitutional schedule / public election calendar
MBB · 58 Ranked #42 of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Malaysia.
