Malaysia, [məlejsiə] is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. The state includes 13 states and three federal territories with a total land area of 329,847 square kilometers (127,350 sq mi). Malaysia is split into two parts through the South China Sea: Malaysia Peninsula and Malaysia's Borneo.Malaysia has land borders with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei, while it has maritime boundaries with Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, but the place where the federal government is located is Putrajaya. In 2010, Malaysia's population was 28.33 million, of which 22.6 million lived in the Peninsula. Malaysia has the southernmost tip of Eurasia, Tanjung Piai.Malaysia is a tropical country, one of the 17 countries with superlative biodiversity on Earth, with many endemic species.
Malaysia originated in the Malay kingdoms present in the region, and from the 18th century, these kingdoms began to depend on the British Empire. The first British territory was called Straits Settlements. The Malaysian Peninsula was incorporated into the Malaya Union in 1946. Malaya was reorganized as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and gained independence on August 31, 1957. Malaya merged with North Borneo , Sarawak, and Singapore on September 16, 1963, with si being added to the new Malaysian name. In 1965, Singapore was expelled from the Union.
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multicultural nation that plays a major role in national politics. The constitution states that Islam is the state religion while protecting religious freedom. The Malaysian government system has a model close to the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system based on common law. The head of state is the monarch, known as Yang di-Pertuan Agong. This man was an elected monarch, chosen from the monarchs of the nine states of Malaysia under the monarchy, changing every five years. The head of the federal government is the prime minister.
Since independence, Malaysia has become one of the best performing economies in Asia, with an average GDP growth rate of 6.5% for nearly 50 years. Traditionally, Malaysian economic stimulus is a natural resource, but the country also develops science, tourism, trade or medical tourism. Today, Malaysia has a new industrial market economy, with nominal GDP ranked third in Southeast Asia and ranked 29th in the world. Malaysia is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the East Asia Summit and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum,Commonwealth countries, and Non-aligned Movement.