Orang Malaysia (Malay) | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Map of the Malaysian diaspora around the world | |
| Total population | |
| c. 34–35 million (Malaysian diaspora 1,730,152)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Malaysia35,439,000 (2017 est.) (excluding the diaspora)[2] | |
| Christmas Island Minority populations | More than 981[3] |
| Singapore | 952,261[1] |
| Australia | 174,136[1] |
| United Kingdom | 84,638[1] |
| United States | 77,647[4][1] |
| Brunei | 52,001[5][6][1] |
| China | 26,248[7][1] |
| Canada | 25,337[1] |
| Taiwan | 24,323[8] |
| New Zealand | 8,661[1] |
| India | 12,228[1] |
| Libya | 8,404[1] |
| Germany | 5,676[1] |
| Ireland | 4,595[1] |
| Netherlands | 4,036[1] |
| Brazil | 3,082[9] |
| Indonesia | 2,363[1] |
| Languages | |
| Malay,English Malayic • North Bornean • Melanau-Kajang • Mandarin • Land Dayak • Sama–Bajaw • Philippine • Murutic | |
| Religion | |
Predominantly Islam63.5%Minority
| |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bruneians,Singaporeans,Indonesians,Thai Malays,Burmese Malays | |
Malaysians (Malay:Orang Malaysia) are citizens who are identified with the country ofMalaysia. Although citizens make up the majority of Malaysians, non-citizen residents may also claim a Malaysian identity.[10]
The country is home to people of variousnational,ethnic andreligious origins. As a result, many Malaysians do not equate theirnationality withethnicity, but withcitizenship andallegiance to Malaysia. Majority of the population, however, belong to several clearly defined racial groups within the country with their own distinct cultures and traditions:Malays,Orang Asli (aboriginal population),Malaysian Chinese (primarilyHan Chinese andPeranakans),Malaysian Indians (primarilySouth AsianTamils andChitty). The majority of the non-Malay and non-aboriginal population in modern Malaysia is made up of immigrants and their descendants. Following the initial period of Portuguese, Dutch and then significantly longer British colonisation, different waves (or peaks) of immigration and settlement of non-indigenous peoples took place over the course of nearly five centuries and continue today.[11]
Malayan independence from theUnited Kingdom in 1957 grew gradually over the course of latter part of the 20th century since the formation of theFederation of Malaya in 1948 (excludingCrown Colony of Singapore,Crown Colony of North Borneo andCrown Colony of Sarawak).World War II in particular gave rise to a desire amongst Malayans to have their country recognised as a fully-fledged sovereign state with a distinct citizenship.
As of 2010, Malaysians make up 0.4% of theworld's total population, having relied upon immigration for population growth and social development. Approximately 30% of current Malaysians are first- or second-generation immigrants, and 20 percent of Malaysian residents in the 2000s were not born in Malaysian soil.[citation needed] It is estimated, by 2031, nearly one-half of Malaysians above the age of 15 will beforeign born or have one foreign born parent.Bumiputera, according to the2010 Malaysian Census, numbered at 17,523,508 or 61.85% of the country's 28,334,135 population.
TheMalaysian diaspora has a population of 1,730,152 in 2019, according to theUnited Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.[1] Malaysia does not keep track of emigration and counts of Malaysians abroad are thus only available courtesy of statistics kept by the destination countries. The diaspora includes both descendants of early emigrants from Malaysia, as well as more recent emigrants from Malaysia.
Since independence, a total of 688,766 naturalised foreigners had been granted Malaysian citizenship while 10,828 individuals had their citizenships revoked.[12][13] The community of Malaysians inAustralianexternal territory ofChristmas Island makes up the majority of the population, while Singapore has the largestminority community of Malaysians, with 952,261 people, followed byAustralia, theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States.
Classification of2010 Census ethnic group is as set by Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) in Appendix 1. IATC is a committee formed to co-ordinate and monitor the implementation and use of standardised codes, classifications and definitions used by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia and other government agencies. For the purpose of tabulation and analysis, as well as taking into account the diverse ethnic group in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Federal Territory of Labuan and Sarawak, major ethnic groups according to region as follows:
| Peninsular Malaysia | Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan | Sarawak |
|---|---|---|
| Malaysian Citizens | ||
| Bumiputera | Bumiputera | Bumiputera |
Other Bumiputera
| ||
Other Malays / Anak Dagang
| ||
Non-Bumiputera
Others
| ||
| Non-Malaysian Citizens (including Permanent Residents) | ||
| ||
Information collected in the census including ethnic group and citizenship was based on respondent's answer and did not refer to any official document.
Information on citizenship should be used with caution as it is subject to content and coverage errors especially for non-citizens as in censuses in most countries.
Malaysia contains speakers of 137 living languages,[14] 41 of which are found in Peninsula Malaysia.[15]Malaysian, or Standard Malay, is the official language, while English is considered the de facto language for business. The Bumiputeras speak variousAustronesian andAustroasiatic languages as well as language families with smaller number of speakers such asTai-Kadai andCreoles. Chinese Malaysians predominantly speakvarieties of Chinese from the southern provinces of China. The more common varieties in the country areCantonese,Mandarin,Hokkien,Hakka,Teochew, Hainanese, and Fuzhou.Tamil is the predominant among Indian Malaysians, though languages likeTelugu,Malayalam andPunjabi are also spoken.
The Malaysian constitution guaranteesfreedom of religion while makingIslam the state religion.[16] According to the Population and Housing Census 2010 figures, ethnicity and religious beliefs correlate highly. Approximately 61.3% of the population practiceIslam, 19.8% practiceBuddhism, 9.2%Christianity, 6.3%Hinduism and 1.3% practiceConfucianism,Taoism and other traditionalChinese religions. 0.7% declared no religion and the remaining 1.4% practised other religions or did not provide any information.
