MYR

Exchange rates:

ringgits (MYR) per US dollar - 3.46 (2007), 3.6683 (2006), 3.8 (2005), 3.8 (2004), 3.8 (2003)

Communications
Malaysia

Telephones - main lines in use:

4.35 million (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

23.347 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: modern system; international service excellent domestic: good intercity service provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave radio relay; adequate intercity microwave radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; domestic satellite system with 2 earth stations; combined fixed-line and mobile cellular teledensity exceeds 110 per 100 persons international: country code - 60; landing point for several major international submarine cable networks that provide connectivity to Asia, Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean, 1 Pacific Ocean) (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 35, FM 391, shortwave 15 (2001)

Radios:

10.9 million (1999)

Television broadcast stations:

88 (mainland Malaysia 51, Sabah 16, and Sarawak 21) (2006)

Televisions:

10.8 million (1999)

Internet country code:

.my

Internet hosts:

377,716 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

7 (2000)

Internet users:

15.868 million (2007)

Transportation
Malaysia

Airports:

116 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 36 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 6 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 80 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 72 (2007)

Heliports:

2 (2007)

Pipelines:

condensate 282 km; gas 5,273 km; oil 1,750 km; oil/gas/water 19 km; refined products 114 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 1,890 km standard gauge: 57 km 1.435-m gauge (57 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,833 km 1.000-m gauge (150 km electrified) (2006)

Roadways:

total: 98,721 km paved: 80,280 km (includes 1,821 km of expressways) unpaved: 18,441 km (2004)

Waterways:

7,200 km note: Peninsular Malaysia 3,200 km; Sabah 1,500 km; Sarawak 2,500 km (2005)

Merchant marine:

total: 306 by type: bulk carrier 12, cargo 97, carrier 1, chemical tanker 34, container 46, liquefied gas 33, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 71, roll on/roll off 3, vehicle carrier 4 foreign-owned: 40 (Germany 1, Hong Kong 14, Japan 4, Russia 2, Singapore 16, Sweden 3) registered in other countries: 68 (Bahamas 13, Marshall Islands 3, Norway 1, Panama 12, Philippines 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Singapore 27, Thailand 3, Tuvalu 1, US 2, unknown 4) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Bintulu, Johor Bahru, Kuantan, Labuan, George Town (Penang), Port
Kelang, Tanjung Pelepas

Transportation - note:

the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the Strait of Malacca and South China Sea as high risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships; numerous commercial vessels have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; hijacked vessels are often disguised and cargo diverted to ports in East Asia; crews have been murdered or cast adrift

Military
Malaysia

Military branches:

Malaysian Armed Forces (Angkatan Tentera Malaysia, ATM): Malaysian
Army (Tentera Darat Malaysia), Royal Malaysian Navy (Tentera Laut
Diraja Malaysia, TLDM), Royal Malaysian Air Force (Tentera Udara
Diraja Malaysia, TUDM) (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service (2005)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 6,440,338 females age 16-49: 6,280,826 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 5,374,006 females age 16-49: 5,316,865 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 260,725 female: 247,309 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

2.03% of GDP (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues
Malaysia

Disputes - international:

Malaysia has asserted sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Malaysia was not party to the March 2005 joint accord among the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam on conducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits; in November 2007, the ICJ will hold public hearings in response to the Memorials and Countermemorials filed by the parties in 2003 and 2005 over sovereignty of Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands, also claimed by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia but left maritime boundary and sovereignty of Unarang rock in the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo; Brunei and Malaysia agreed in September 2008 to resolve their offshore and deepwater seabed dispute, resume hydrocarbon exploration and renounce any territorial claims on land; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 15,174 (Indonesia); 21,544 (Burma) (2007)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Malaysia is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, and men, women, and children for forced labor; Malaysia is mainly a destination country for men, women, and children who migrate willingly from South and Southeast Asia to work, some of whom are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude by Malaysian employers in the domestic, agricultural, construction, plantation, and industrial sectors; to a lesser extent, some Malaysian women, primarily of Chinese ethnicity, are trafficked abroad for commercial sexual exploitation tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Malaysia improved from Tier 3 to the Tier 2 Watch List for 2008 when it enacted comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation in July 2007; however, it did not take action against exploitative employers or labor traffickers in 2007; the government has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)

Illicit drugs:

drug trafficking prosecuted vigorously and carries severe penalties; heroin still primary drug of abuse, but synthetic drug demand remains strong; continued ecstasy and methamphetamine producer for domestic users and, to a lesser extent, the regional drug market

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Maldives

Introduction
Maldives

Background:

The Maldives was long a sultanate, first under Dutch and then under British protection. It became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM dominated the islands' political scene for 30 years, elected to six successive terms by single-party referendums. Following riots in the capital Male in August 2004, the president and his government pledged to embark upon democratic reforms including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Progress was sluggish, however, and many promised reforms were slow to be realized. Nonetheless, political parties were legalized in 2005. In June 2008, a constituent assembly - termed the "Special Majlis" - finalized a new constitution, which was ratified by the president in August. The first-ever presidential elections under a multi-candidate, multi-party system were held in October 2008. GAYOOM was defeated in a runoff poll by Mohamed NASHEED, a political activist who had been jailed several years earlier by the former regime. Challenges facing the new president include strengthening democracy and combating poverty and drug abuse.

Geography
Maldives

Location:

Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India

Geographic coordinates: