Confidus Solutions logotype

Confidus Solutions

Geography of Malaysia

Malaysia is considered to be a large nation because of its total area. Its total land area is 330,803 km² (approx. 127,723 mi²). Continental shelf of Malaysia is approximately 323,412 km² (around 124,869 mi²). Malaysia is located in Asia. Asia is the world’s largest and most populous continent. Asian countries include, but are not limited to, Russia, China, Japan, Hong Kong, and North and South Korea. Malaysia has 3 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand. Malaysia is not a landlocked country. It means that is is bordered by at least one major body of water. The average elevation range of Malaysia is 419 m (1,375 ft).

Neighbors

Total length of land borders of Malaysia is 2742 kilometers (~1,059 miles). Malaysia has 4 unique land boundaries with neigbouring territories and it shares its land borders with 3 different countries. Malaysia has 1 non-contiguous section of land borders. This happens, when a country has a border with a neighbour, and this border is split by a border with another neighbour. Malaysia has 3 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Brunei, Indonesia, and Thailand. The lengths of the land borders of Malaysia with its neighbouring countries are as follows:

Cities

The capital city of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur (official, legislative and royal); Putrajaya (administrative and judicial). The largest cities in Malaysia are Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya.

Elevation

The average elevation range of Malaysia is 419 m (1,375 ft). The highest point of Malaysia is Gunung Kinabalu, with its official height being 4095 m (13,436 ft). The lowest point of Malaysia is China Sea, Indian Ocean. The elevation difference between the highest (Gunung Kinabalu) and lowest (China Sea, Indian Ocean) points of Malaysia is 4095 m (2 ft).

Area

The total land area of Malaysia is 330,803 km² (approx. 127,723 mi²). and the total exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is 334,671 km² (~129,217 mi²). The continental shelf of Malaysia is approximately 323,412 km² (around 124,869 mi²). Including land mass and EEZ, the total area of Malaysia is approximately 665,474 km² (~256,940 mi²). Malaysia is considered to be a large nation because of its total area.

Forest and arable land

195,200 km² of Malaysia's territory is covered in forests, and forest land comprises 59% of all the land in the country. There are 17,939 km² of arable land in Malaysia, and it comprises 5% of the country's total territory.

Read our section on climate to discover what parameters affect these and other biomes of the country.

Natural resources

The most notable natural resources found in Malaysia are tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite.