Where is Malaysia Located? Malaysia Map in World Location

Finding the location of Malaysia on the world map has always been an uphill task. Yet, many people speak so glowingly about it. 

This is because Malaysia is a famous tourist place to visit in Asia. Knowing that the country can be hard to find, I pulled out my world map to find the location of the country. There it was – a country made up of two islands. 

All this time, it had appeared as a single body of land. Malaysia map in the world atlas is made up of two separate areas that look like the horns on an antelope.

Understanding Malaysia as a country?

With the map out, I wondered, “Where is Malaysia located?” Soon, the country became visible as I was able to pinpoint its location. 

Malaysia is made up of two separate land zones which are called East Malaysia and Peninsular Malaysia. 

The South China Sea divides both land areas pushing them away by almost 400 miles apart. 

If both regions of Malaysia were brought together, they would be roughly as big as New Mexico in the United States of America.

All about East and Peninsular Malaysia

If you want to know what is the relative location of Malaysia, you would have to look at the surrounding geography of the region. 

The Peninsular Malaysia can be found on the lower edge of an area that is called the Malay Peninsular. On my visit to the country, the locals also called the region West Malaysia. 

This particular landmass is known for its unique thin and long appearance. It curves from Thailand towards the popular South China Sea. 

This exciting shape of Peninsular Malaysia, adds to the geographical marvel of the country’s layout. On the other hand, you can spot East Malaysia resting in the other part of Indonesia, which is another country. 

East Malaysia spreads from the stretches all across the northern parts of Borneo island in Indonesia.

Looking for the capital of Malaysia on the map

It always appeared that to find Kuala Lumpur, one will need a Malaysia map with states. 

However, this was not the case. The capital of the country can be spotted so easily in the western part of Peninsular Malaysia. 

Looking closely at my map, it appears that Kuala Lumpur is a lot closer to Sumatra Island (Indonesia) which is closer to East Malaysia. 

I will later travel to the country to the capital to discover that East Malaysia is where the famous Mount Kinabalu is located. 

This mountain is the highest point in the country as a friend will tell me. 

When we did our research, we discovered that the mountain rose about 4,101 meters (13,455 feet) above sea level.

Countries Close to Malaysia on the World Map

Malaysia is an economic powerhouse in Asia despite its small size. Its location has a lot to do with its economic prosperity. 

Where is Malaysia on the world map? Malaysia is very close to many countries that are also economic giants within its region. The country can be found very close to Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. It shares borders with one Indonesian island in the south and Thailand in the north. 

The location of Malaysia is also close to Singapore but they are separated by a water body known as the Johor Strait. 

However, there is a bridge connecting the two countries which is Singapore and Malaysia called as Johor-Singapore Causeway.

Due to the closeness between both countries, the bridge usually has heavy traffic. 

This led to the construction of a second access bridge known as the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (also known as the Tuas Second Link Bridge).

I traveled both bridges during my visit to Malaysia and realized that both structures were important landmarks of the region.

Malaysia And the Equator

A country’s location can greatly affect its economy and this happened to be true with Malaysia. 

The country’s relative location to the equator played a lot of roles in making it an attractive destination. 

Where is Malaysia as a country relative to the equator? Malaysia is located on the northern part of the equator – but a little bit close to it. 

I discovered that it had a warm tropical climate that made it such a haven for tourism and international trade. 

It didn’t take me too long to discover that the equatorial position of the country plays such a pivotal role in shaping its economy and climate. 

The country has a tropical climate that supports its agricultural sector which means it can export its farm produce to many parts of the world. 

Also, I noticed that Malaysia is warm throughout the year. This means that there is no best time to visit the country – making it an attractive tourist destination all year round. 

The country is located in a very strategic position that it can trade with any other country from any part of the world. 

Furthermore, Malaysia is a tropical country that gets a lot of sunshine – which makes it an ideal powerhouse for renewable energy.

FAQ’s on the Location of Malaysia