Malaysia is made up of
two distinct geographical parts - Peninsular Malaysia to the west
and the states of Sarawak and Sabah on Borneo Island to the east,
both of which sit just north of the equator and are separated by
the South China Sea. Peninsular Malaysia has a border with Thailand
to the north and the island of Singapore sits offshore in the
south, while Malaysian Borneo shares borders with Brunei and
Indonesia.
Malaysia covers an area of 329,758 square kilometres and has a
population of more than 27.5 million people. Bahasa Melayu, or
Malay, is the national language but English is very widely spoken.
Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, however all religions
are freely practised.