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Country Facts

Capital	Kuala Lumpur
Area	329,847 sq. km
Population	26.8 million
Indigenous population	Indigenous peoples account for around 12% of the total population but, whereas the Peninsular Malaysia Orang Asli account for only 0.7% of the population, indigenous groups represent around 50% in Sarawak and 60% in Sabah.
Government type	Constitutional monarchy
Legal recognition of indigenous peoples	Article 161(A) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia 1957 provides a special position for natives of the states of Sabah and Sarawak. It spells out what “native” means and which groups are considered native. It also outlines the conditions for the alienation of lands and the preferential treatment of natives by the State. Besides having a special section in the Federal Constitution, Sabah and Sarawak also have state laws specifically on indigenous peoples. For the Orang Asli on Peninsular Malaysia, the Aboriginal Peoples Act (1954, 1974) lays down certain ground rules for the treatment, government and administration of the Orang Asli and their land.
Language	The official language is Bahasa Melayu. However, the Constitution guarantees the freedom to learn and use other languages, except for official purposes. The Education Act was adopted in 1996 and, under this law, the right to learn one’s mother tongue or indigenous language merely exists at the behest of the minister and not as a right as stated in the 1957 Education Ordinance.
GDP per capita (purchase power parity):	US$12,000 (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	8% (1998 est.). But while the national poverty level dropped markedly to 6.5% in 2004, more than three-quarters (76.5 per cent) of the Orang Asli still live below the poverty line.
Life expectancy	Male: 69.8 years; female: 75.38 years (2006 est.)
Health	Despite improvements in the health status of the rural population, including indigenous peoples, reports show that the health status of e.g. the Orang Asli is poor compared to others in West Malaysia. Tuberculosis, poor nutrition, anaemia and intestinal worms are some of the known problems.
Education	Only primary education in Malaysia is mandated by law but more and more indigenous children get a higher education, especially in Sabah and Sarawak. However, indigenous children are still disadvantaged compared to the general population. For example, for every 1,000 Orang Asli children entering Standard One, only six will go on to Form Five.
Key sectors	Malaysia, a middle-income country, transformed itself from 1971 through the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi- sector economy. Key sectors include electronic equipment, oil and gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals and agriculture processing.

Sources: various sources including Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), CIA World Fact Book, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact Foundation (AIPP)