Background: During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and
protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from
1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula
formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was
formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East
Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the
Federation. The first several years of the country's history were marred by
Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and
Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965.
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
Population: 23,953,136 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33% (male 4,067,006/female 3,837,758)
15-64 years:
62.4% (male 7,488,367/female 7,447,047)
65 years and over: 4.6% (male
490,334/female 622,624) (2005 est.)
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