Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital, largest city and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. The nearby planned capital of Putrajaya is the administrative capital; which represents the seat of both the executive branch (Cabinet, federal ministries and agencies) and the judicial branch of the federal government. With a population of over 110 million, Malaysia is the world's 43rd-most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia is in Tanjung Piai. In the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, home to a number of endemic species.

The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, with most people being Malay, but there are also Chinese and Indians. Its official language is Malay written in the Latin alphabet. English is a recognised language and also the official language in Sarawak state along with Malay. Tamil and Chinese is also often used. There are over 130 other languages spoken in Malaysia, with 94 in Malaysian Borneo and 40 on the peninsula. Islam is the official religion, but non-Malay citizens have the freedom to practice other religions.

History 
Between China and India, Malaysia was an ancient trading place. When Europeans came to this area, Malacca became an important trade port.

The states of Malaysia became a colony of the British Empire, starting with Penang in 1786. The peninsular part became independent on 31 August 1957 as the Federation of Malaya. In September 1963, Malaya, Singapore and the Borneo part joined together to become Malaysia. In 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation and declared independence.

Politics and economy 
Malaysia has 13 states, which are Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu, and three federal territories, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan. The number of points of the star on the flag represents the number of states Malaysia has, but it has 14 because Singapore was one of the states in Malaysia during its creation. The 14th point now represents the federal territories, called Wilayah Persekutuan. The head of state of Malaysia is known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, otherwise called the "King of Malaysia". That title is currently held by Sultan Abdullah of Pahang. Malaysia's head of government is the Prime Minister. Its current prime minister is Ismail Sabri Yaakob. It also has a parliament and a court system. It is a founding member of ASEAN.

Cities
The following is a list of places in Malaysia.  They are in order by the date they were given city status.
 George Town (1 January 1957)
 Kuala Lumpur (1 February 1972)
 Ipoh (27 May 1988)
 Kuching (1 August 1988)
 Johor Bahru (1 January 1994)
 Kota Kinabalu (2 February 2000)
 Shah Alam (10 October 2000)
 Melaka City (15 April 2003)
 Alor Setar (21 December 2003)
 Miri (20 May 2005)
 Petaling Jaya (20 June 2006)
 Kuala Terengganu (1 January 2008)
 Iskandar Puteri (22 November 2017)
 Seberang Perai (16 September 2019)
 Seremban (20 January 2020)
 Subang Jaya (20 October 2020)
 Pasir Gudang (22 November 2020)
 Kuantan (21 February 2021)
 Sandakan (22 February 2022)

Religion 
Malaysia is a multi-religious society, and Islam is the largest population of believers. Most of the Malay people in Malaysia embrace Islam naturally as their religion. Besides Islam, Malaysia has other religions such as Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Culture 
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society, consisting of 65% Malays and other indigenous tribes, 25% Chinese, 7% Indians. The Malays, which form the largest community, are all Muslims since one has to be Muslim to be legally Malay under Malaysian law. The Malays play a dominant role politically and are included in a grouping identified as bumiputera.

Food and drink 
Many cultures from within the country and from surrounding areas have influenced the cuisine. Much of the influence comes from the Malay, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Javanese, and Sumatran cultures, largely because the country was part of the ancient spice route.

Food from one culture is sometimes also cooked using ways taken from another culture, for example, shrimp paste (belacan) and sambal are commonly used by Chinese restaurants for cooking. This means that although much of Malaysian food can be traced back to a certain culture, they have their own identity. Rice is popular in many dishes. Chili is commonly found in local cuisine, although this does not necessarily make them spicy. Examples are laksa, which is a spicy noodle dish common in Malaysia and teh tarik, which is a popular drink.

Sports 
Malaysia's national sports centre is the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex. Nicol David (squash) and Lee Chong Wei (badminton) are notable athletes from Malaysia. Malaysia won 12 gold medals in the Commonwealth Games 2010 in India, and broke their Commonwealth Games target.

Transport 
Malaysia's road network covers 98,721 kilometres (61,342 mi) and includes 1,821 kilometres (1,132 mi) of expressways. The longest highway of the country, the North-South Expressway, extends over 800 kilometres (497 mi) between the Thai border and Singapore. The road systems in Sabah and Sarawak are less developed and of lower quality in comparison to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Malaysia has 118 airports, of which 38 are paved. The official airline of Malaysia is Malaysia Airlines, providing international and domestic air service alongside two other carriers. The railway system is state-run, and covers a total of 1,849 kilometres (1,149 mi). There are also Light Rail Transit in Kuala Lumpur.

Related pages
 States of Malaysia
 List of rivers of Malaysia
 Malaysia at the Olympics
 Malaysia national football team
Kuala Lumpur International Airport

References

Other websites 

 Malaysian Government Portal 
 Malaysian maps
 Malaysia Travel Guide  - Most comprehensive travel guide to Malaysia attractions

1963 establishments in Asia
States and territories established in the 1960s
Current monarchies
 
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation