Polity · 1957 CE – 1965 CE
Federation of Malaya
Persekutuan Tanah Melayu
- Peak recorded area
- 139,571 km²
- 1958 CE
- Rulers on record
- 4
- from 1957 CE
- Data series
- 172
- 1957 CE–1962 CE
Overview
Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca. It was established on 1 February 1948.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
2 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1965 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 41 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population80 obs · 1820 CE–1962 CE | 8.4Mpersons1962 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female16 obs · 1950 CE–1962 CE | 59.92years1962 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male16 obs · 1950 CE–1962 CE | 57.94years1962 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration16 obs · 1950 CE–1962 CE | -43Kpersons1962 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Height Men13 obs · 1840 CE–1960 CE | 164.6cm1960 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Infant Mortality Rate13 obs · 1950 CE–1962 CE | 62.56per 1000 live births1962 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 80 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP163 obs · 1800 CE–1962 CE | 3,142int'l $ (inflation adj.)1962 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP per capita61 obs · 1820 CE–1962 CE | 2,6092011 int'l $1962 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Real Wage32 obs · 1885 CE–1960 CE | 18.08index (1500=1)1960 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Total Exports6 obs · 1957 CE–1962 CE | 858million USD (current)1962 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports6 obs · 1957 CE–1962 CE | 800million USD (current)1962 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance6 obs · 1957 CE–1962 CE | 58million USD (current)1962 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score6 obs · 1957 CE–1962 CE | 0.0018CINC (share of world capability)1962 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption6 obs · 1957 CE–1962 CE | 2.8Mcoal-ton equivalents1962 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production6 obs · 1957 CE–1962 CE | 0tons1962 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure6 obs · 1957 CE–1962 CE | 36.7Mcurrent USD1962 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel6 obs · 1957 CE–1962 CE | 46Kpersons1962 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 16 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production63 obs · 1900 CE–1962 CE | 0TWh1962 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production63 obs · 1900 CE–1962 CE | 0TWh1962 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production63 obs · 1900 CE–1962 CE | 0.675TWh1962 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Agricultural Land %2 obs · 1961 CE–1962 CE | 9.59%1962 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land %2 obs · 1961 CE–1962 CE | 2.37%1962 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Arable Land per capita Ha2 obs · 1961 CE–1962 CE | 0.0928hectares per person1962 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 8 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index63 obs · 1900 CE–1962 CE | 0.311index (0-1)1962 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index63 obs · 1900 CE–1962 CE | 0.216index (0-1)1962 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index63 obs · 1900 CE–1962 CE | 0.18index (0-1)1962 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type63 obs · 1900 CE–1962 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)1962 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index63 obs · 1900 CE–1962 CE | 0.723index (0-1)1962 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity26 obs · 1957 CE–1962 CE | 10index (-10 to 10)1962 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 22 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Tech Mail Items85 obs · 1869 CE–1962 CE | 163items1962 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Line Km72 obs · 1886 CE–1962 CE | 1,706km1962 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Freedom Of Expression Index63 obs · 1900 CE–1962 CE | 0.274index (0-1)1962 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Telegraph51 obs · 1900 CE–1962 CE | 1.23count1962 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles31 obs · 1924 CE–1962 CE | 41.6count1962 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars31 obs · 1924 CE–1962 CE | 129.4Kcount1962 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
4 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Abdul Rahman of Negeri SembilanHead of State1957 CE –
- Tunku Abdul RahmanHead of Government1957 CE –
- Hisamuddin Alam Shah of SelangorYang di-Pertuan Agong1960 CE
- Syed Putra of PerlisYang di-Pertuan Agong1960 CE – 1965 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- English, Malay
- Currency
- Malaya and British Borneo dollar
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1957 CE –
- United Kingdom–Malaysia Defense Pact (1957)Military alliance · member1957 CE – 1971 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment series). Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Federation of Malaya is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.