Indian Malaysian
Tamil classical dance, performed in Malaysia.
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| Total population | |
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2,012,600 (2015) 7.5% of the Malaysian population (2016) |
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| Regions with significant populations | |
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| Languages | |
| Malay (lingua franca and medium of communication in schools and government), Tamil (majority) and English (used as a secondary language), and other Indian languages such as Malayalam, Telugu, Bengali, Punjabi, Hindi, and Sindhi | |
| Religion | |
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Predominantly Hinduism
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| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indian Singaporeans, Chitty, Chindian, Jawi Peranakan |
West coast of Peninsular Malaysia
Predominantly Hinduism
The Malaysian Indians or Indian Malaysians (Tamil: மலேசிய இந்தியர்கள் Malēciya Intiyarkaḷ) consists of people of full or partial Indian descent who were born in or immigrated to Malaysia. In 2015, there were around 2 million people self-identifying as "Indian" who hold Malaysian nationality (including Malaysian-born and foreign-born people of Indian descent).
Most are descendants from those who migrated from India during the British colonisation of Malaya. There is a possibility that the first wave of Indians migration towards Southeast Asia happened when the Asoka's invasion towards Kalinga and Samudragupta's expedition towards the South. Today, they form the third largest ethnic group in Malaysia after the Malays and the Chinese.
Malaysia is home to one of the largest populations of Overseas Indians, constituting 7% of the Malaysian population. Malaysia's Indian population is notable for its class stratification, with large elite and lower income groups and diverse racial differences even within its fold. Malaysian Indians make up a disproportionately large percentage of professionals per capita - constituting 15.5% of Malaysia's professionals in 1999. As of a census taken in 1984, up to 38% of the nation's medical professional workforce consists of Malaysian Indians.
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Wikipedia