Malaysia Languages, Literacy, Maps, Endangered Languages, Population, Official Use (MY)

Summary:

Malaysia is a country in Asia that is home to 33,938,000 people. It is also home to 111 living indigenous languages. One of these, Standard Malay, is an official language of the country. Malaysia was also home to 2 indigenous languages that are now extinct. In addition, 21 living non-indigenous languages are established within the country. One of these, English, is also an official language of the country. In formal education, 2 indigenous languages are used as languages of instruction.

Dashboard

Country Location
Click a country to learn about its languages
Demographics
33,938,000
people
111
living indigenous languages
95%
literate
Indigenous Language Vitality Count
1. Institutional
  7
2. Stable
  15
3. Endangered
  89
4. Extinct
  2
Details
This graph shows a profile of languages indigenous to Malaysia with respect to their level of language vitality.
Institutional — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
Stable — The language is not being sustained by formal institutions, but it is still the norm in the home and community that all children learn and use the language.
Endangered — It is no longer the norm that children learn and use this language.
Extinct - The language is no longer used and no one retains a sense of ethnic identity associated with the language.
These four summary levels have been derived by grouping levels in the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), which is the more fine-grained scale that Ethnologue uses to assess the status of every language in terms of development versus endangerment; see Language Status for a description of the levels of that scale. See also the pages on Development and Endangerment for more discussion.

Want to Know More?

Ethnologue Subscriptions

Looking for deeper insights into the languages of Malaysia? Upgrade to an Essentials or Standard subscription for unlimited access to Ethnologue’s complete collection of country and language profiles—featuring expert-vetted data, interactive maps, and statistics on over 7,000 languages worldwide.

Perfect for researchers, linguists, and anyone passionate about language diversity

View Subscriptions

Ethnologue Country Digests

Browse Country Digests

Explore all 132 languages used in Malaysia with Ethnologue: Languages of Malaysia—a downloadable PDF document that provides detailed analysis presented in formats not available in the online version of Ethnologue. It includes:

Comprehensive country overview.
Statistical summaries by language status, size, and family.
Alphabetical listing of languages in the country, with in-depth descriptions.
Full-color language map(s) for visual reference.
Listings by population, status, family, and region.
Indexes of ISO 639 codes and alternate language names.

Want to explore more countries? Visit our online store for additional Ethnologue Country Digests! Or upgrade to a Standard subscription for unlimited access to the entire collection

Indigenous Languages

Families

The indigenous languages of Malaysia belong to the following families.

Language Policy Conventions

Malaysia has adopted the following international conventions which speak to indigenous language rights.

CSICH (2013)
UNCRPD (2010)
UNDRIP (2007)

Malaysia

Summary:

Dashboard

Country Location

Demographics

Indigenous Language Vitality Count