Location:
Southeastern Asia, peninsula and northern one-third of the island
of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and the South China Sea, south of
Vietnam
Geographic coordinates:
2 30 N, 112 30 E
Map references:
Southeast Asia
Area:
total: 329,750 sq km
water: 1,200 sq km
land: 328,550 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
total: 2,669 km
border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km
Coastline:
4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km)
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation;
specified boundary in the South China Sea
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast
(October to February) monsoons
Terrain:
coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m
Natural resources:
tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite
Land use:
arable land: 5.54%
permanent crops: 17.61%
other: 76.85% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
3,650 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
flooding, landslides, forest fires
Environment - current issues:
air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water
pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian
forest fires
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note:
strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China
Sea