Malaysians

Malaysian people
Orang Malaysia

Malaysians work and dine in a 24-hour Mamak stall in Kuala Lumpur
Total population
(31,377,000 est (excluding Malaysian diaspora) Malaysian diaspora 700,000–1,000,000)
Regions with significant populations
Christmas Island Minority populations	More than 981
Singapore	385,979
Australia	92,337
Brunei	70,000
United Kingdom	63,000
United States	26,179
China	15,000
New Zealand	14,547
Canada	12,165
Taiwan	10,000
Japan	8,115
United Arab Emirates	6,000
Qatar	5,000
India	2,500
Languages
Languages of Malaysia
Religion
Religion in Malaysia

Malaysians are the people who are identified with the country of Malaysia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Malaysians, several (frequently all) of those types of connections exist and are the source(s) of their being considered Malaysians. Although citizens make up the majority of Malaysians, non-citizen residents and overseas Malaysians may also claim a Malaysian identity.

The country is home to people of many different kinds of national origins and ethnicities. As a result, Malaysians do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizenship and allegiance. The majority of the population in Malaysian soil is made up of immigrants and their descendants. Following the initial period of Portuguese, Dutch and then the much larger British colonisation, different waves (or peaks) of immigration and settlement of non-aboriginal peoples took place over the course of nearly five centuries and continue today.

Malayan independence from Great Britain grew gradually over the course of many years since the formation of the Federation of Malaya in 1948 (excluding Crown Colony of Singapore, Crown Colony of North Borneo and Crown 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 the world'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. It is estimated, by 2031, nearly one-half of Malaysians above the age of 15 will be foreign born or have one foreign born parent. Bumiputera, according to the 2010 Malaysian Census, numbered at 17,523,508 or 61.85% of the country's 28,334,135 population.