Total area

330,252 sq km

Population

28.3m (2010 mid-year government estimate)

Main towns

Population in '000 (2009)

Kuala Lumpur (capital): 1,655

Subang Jaya: 1,175

Klang: 1,004

Johor Baru: 868

Ampang Jaya: 724

Climate

Tropical

Weather in Kuala Lumpur (altitude 39 metres)

Hottest months, April and May, 23-33°C (average daily minimum and maximum); coldest month, December, 22-32°C; driest month, July, 99 mm average rainfall; wettest month, April, 292 mm average rainfall

Languages

Malay (the official language); other main languages: Chinese (Min Nan, Hakka, Mandarin and Min Dong), English, Tamil, Iban (in Sarawak), Banjar (in Sabah). There are 140 languages spoken in Malaysia (peninsular Malaysia 40, Sabah 54, Sarawak 46)

Measures

Malaysia uses the metric system, but some British weights and measures are still in use. Local measures include:

1 pikul = 25 gantang = 100 katis = 60.48 kg

1 koyan = 40 pikul = 2.419 tonnes

Currency

Ringgit or Malaysian dollar (M$ or RM); M$1 = 100 sen (cents). Average exchange rate in 2010: M$3.22:US$1

Time

Peninsular Malaysia: 7 hours ahead of GMT; Sabah and Sarawak: 8 hours ahead of GMT

Public holidays

January 1st (New Year's Day); February 3rd-4th (Chinese New Year); February 15th (the Prophet Mohammed's birthday); May 1st-2nd (Labour Day); May 17th (Wesak Day); June 4th (the king's birthday); August 30th-31st (Hari Raya Puasa); August 31st-1st September (National Day); October 26th (Deepavali); November 6th-7th (Hari Raya Qurban); November 27th-28th (Awal Muharam), December 25th (Christmas Day)