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Back to Malaysia 

Religion and Philosophy in Malaysia

Malaysia's official religion is Islam, but the freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution.  As in other areas, the cultural diversity plays a part in the religious preference of Malays.  The Chinese population in Malaysia is basically Buddhist or Taoist with a few following Confucianism. Indians in Malaysia are usually Hindus (with a few being Sikh).  

The vast majority of the Malays (particularly ethnic Malays) are Muslims, with Christianity being practiced by some Chinese, Indians, Eurasians and many of the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak.   

 

Ethnic groups:

Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% (2004 est.)

Religions:

Muslim 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%, other or unknown 1.5%, none 0.8% (2000 census)

Languages:

Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.7% male: 92% female: 85.4% (2000 census)

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