Malaysian diaspora
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (700,000–1,000,000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Christmas IslandMinority populations |
More than 981 |
 Singapore
|
385,979 |
 Australia
|
138,364 |
 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 and various languages of the countries they inhabit | |
| Religion | |
| Religion in Malaysia | |
The Malaysian diaspora are Malaysian emigrants from Malaysia and their descendants that reside in a foreign country. Population estimates vary from a conservative seven hundred thousand to one million diaspora, both descendants of early emigrants from Malaysia, as well as more recent emigrants from Malaysia. The largest of these foreign communities are on the Australian external territory of Christmas Island where they make up the majority as well as significant minorities in Singapore, Australia, Brunei and the United Kingdom.
Emigration from Malaysia is a complex demographic phenomenon existing for decades and having a number of reasons. The process is the reverse of the immigration to Malaysia. Malaysia does not keep track of emigration, and counts of Malaysians abroad are thus only available courtesy of statistics kept by the destination countries.
Since independence, a total of 688,766 naturalised foreigners had been granted Malaysian citizenship while 10,828 individuals had their citizenships revoked.
Malaysia is a net immigration country, meaning more people are arriving to Malaysia. than leaving it. Many of the emigrants from Malaysia do not plan to become permanent emigrants, but to be expatriates (expats) for a limited amount of time. There is a scarcity of official records in this domain. Given the high dynamics of the emigration-prone groups, emigration from Malaysia remains indiscernible from temporary country leave.
Malaysians can only lose their citizenship in a very limited number of ways, and anyone born to at least one Malaysian parent, or born on Malaysian soil, is considered to be a Malaysian citizen. It is not automatic for a child born abroad to one Malaysian parent to obtain Malaysian citizenship if the Malaysian parent has been living abroad for a long time. Few Malaysians living abroad renounce their citizenship, with the long-term trend being in the low-hundreds per year.
Malaysians residing overseas who have not registered as a Normal Elector before or who wish to be registered as an Absent Voter to participate in any Malaysian election may register with the respective consulate generals, embassies or high commissioners. As of 2013, only 8,756 Malaysians (1%) out of over 700,000 Malaysians living abroad have registered as postal voters. 6,092 of the 8,756 registered citizens overseas or 69.82% had cast their votes at 100 Malaysian missions worldwide for the Malaysian general election, 2013.
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