Country of Southeast Asia, composed of two noncontiguous regions--Peninsular, or West, Malaysia and East Malaysia--separated by some 400 miles (650 km) of the South China Sea. Peninsular Malaysia (50,810 square miles [131,598 square km]) occupies the southern half of the Malay Peninsula; it is about 500 miles (800 km) long and 200 miles (325 km) wide and is bordered on the north by Thailand, on the south by Singapore, on the west by the Strait of Malacca, and on the east by the South China Sea. East Malaysia (76,510 square miles [198,160 square km]) occupies the northwestern part of the island of Borneo and is about 670 miles (1,075 km) long and 240 miles (385 km) wide; it consists of the states of Sarawak and Sabah. It is bordered on the north and west by the South China Sea, on the east by the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea, and on the south by Kalimantan (Indonesian) Borneo; the small independent coastal sultanate of Brunei is surrounded on land by Sarawak. The capital of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur. Area, including inland water, 127,575 square miles (330,417 square km). Pop. (1991) 17,566,982; (1997 est.) 21,767,000.

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