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
land: 328,550 sq km
water: 1,200 sq km
Area - comparative:
eight times Holland
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: 3%
permanent crops: 12%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 68%
other: 17% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land:
2,941 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
flooding, landslides
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
