Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Malaysia local long form: none local short form: Malaysia former: Federation of Malaysia

Capital City: Kuala Lumpur

Population: 24,385,858 (July 2006 est.)

GDP Per Capita: $12,700 (2006 est.)

Currency: ringgit (MYR)

Languages: Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan

Total Area: total: 329,750 sq km land: 328,550 sq km water: 1,200 sq km slightly larger than New Mexico

Region: Asia

Industries: Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging, timber processing; Sabah - logging, petroleum production; Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging

Agriculture: Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper, timber

Resources: tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite

Labor Force: 10.73 million (2006 est.)
agriculture: 14.5% industry: 36% services: 49.5% (2000 est.)

Exports: $158.7 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals

Imports: $127.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals

Overview: Malaysia, a middle-income country, transformed itself from 1971 through the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven by exports - particularly of electronics. As a result, Malaysia was hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the information technology (IT) sector in 2001 and 2002. GDP in 2001 grew only 0.5% because of an estimated 11% contraction in exports, but a substantial fiscal stimulus package equal to US $1.9 billion mitigated the worst of the recession, and the economy rebounded in 2002 with a 4.1% increase. The economy grew 4.9% in 2003, notwithstanding a difficult first half, when external pressures from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Iraq War led to caution in the business community. Growth topped 7% in 2004 and 5% per year in 2005-06. As an oil and gas exporter, Malaysia has profited from higher world energy prices, although the rising cost of domestic gasoline and diesel fuel forced Kuala Lumpur to reduce government subsidies, contributing to higher inflation. Malaysia "unpegged" the ringgit from the US dollar in 2005 and the currency appreciated 6% against the dollar in 2006. Healthy foreign exchange reserves and a small external debt greatly reduce the risk that Malaysia will experience a financial crisis over the near term similar to the one in 1997. The economy remains dependent on continued growth in the US, China, and Japan - top export destinations and key sources of foreign investment.

_{CIA World Book}

In 2007 Missouri exported $43,202,476 in goods to Malaysia. This ranks Malaysia 33^rd among the 223 international buyers of Missouri goods. Missouri exports to Malaysia decreased from the previous year by $6,389,308 a change of -12.88%. State exports to Malaysia have increased over the last 5 years by $16,625,803 a change of 62.55%. Missouri exports account for .32%. of all 2007 US exports to Malaysia.