| Location | Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam |
| Geographic coordinates | 2 30 N, 112 30 E |
| Map references | Southeast Asia |
| Area | total: 329,847 sq km land: 328,657 sq km water: 1,190 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than New Mexico |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,742 km border countries (3): Brunei 266 km, Indonesia 1881 km, Thailand 595 km |
| Coastline | 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km) |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea |
| Climate | tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons |
| Terrain | coastal plains rising to hills and mountains |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,095 m lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 419 m |
| Natural resources | tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite |
| Land use | agricultural land: 23.2% (2018 est.) arable land: 2.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 19.4% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 0.9% (2018 est.) forest: 62% (2018 est.) other: 14.8% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 3,800 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 580 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | flooding; landslides; forest fires |
| Geography - note | strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
