Malaysian diaspora

Overseas Malaysians
Diaspora Malaysia (Malay)
Map of the Malaysian Diaspora in the world
Total population
2,486,673[1]
 Singapore1,615,300[2][1]
 Australia281,940
 Indonesia146,200[1]
 United Kingdom90,163[1]
 United States73,812[3][1]
 Brunei48,100[4][5][1]
 China26,248[6][1]
 Canada25,340[1]
 Taiwan24,323[7]
 New Zealand23,000[1]
 Saudi Arabia19,000[8]
 Hong Kong14,000[9]
 South Korea13,810[10]
 India12,109[1]
 Japan11,471[11][12]
 Germany10,846[1]
 Libya9,000[1]
 Netherlands6,376[1]
 Qatar5,000[13]
 Ireland4,595[1]
 United Arab Emirates4,500
 France3,000[9]
  Switzerland3,000[9]
 Egypt3,000[9]
 Brazil2,950[14]
 Sweden2,000[9]
 Sri Lanka1,750[15]
 Italy1,000[9]
 Argentina1,000[9]
 Spain1,000[9]
 Belgium1,000[9]
 Denmark1,000[9]
 Thailand1,000[9]
 South Africa1,000[9]
 Algeria1,000[9]
 Norway800[9]
 Philippines800[16]
 Finland800[17]
 Bahrain500[18]
 Kuwait380[19]
 Russia40[20]
 Iceland20[9]
Languages
Malay, Languages of Malaysia and various languages of the countries they inhabit
Religion
Religion in Malaysia

The Malaysian diaspora consists of Malaysian citizens who emigrated from Malaysia, or individuals with ancestral connections to its predecessor states, the Federation of Malaya, the Malayan Union or British Malaya, along with their descendants residing in foreign countries.[21] The population is estimated at approximately 1.86 to 2.49 million, comprising both the descendants of early migrants and more recent emigrants from modern-day Malaysia. The largest of these overseas communities are located 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, with institutional racism being one of the major factors. 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. As of 2025, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the population of the Malaysian diaspora stands at 2,486,673.[1]

Reasons of emigration

  • Economic reasons[22][23]
  • Education opportunities (e.g. study abroad)
  • Family reasons (most common with recent immigrants or permanent residents)
  • Marriage to a foreigner with a job in the foreign country
  • Lack of meritocracy[24]
  • Business opportunities[23]
  • Religious reasons
  • Disenchantment and disillusionment with the political system[23]
  • Access to health insurance, and other health reasons (see Universal health care)
  • Racism, particularly against non-Bumiputera/Malay citizens
  • Evasion of legal liabilities (e.g. crimes, taxes, loans, etc.)

Brain drain

Due to the concept of Ketuanan Melayu (lit. 'Malay supremacy'), a citizen that is not considered to be of Bumiputera status face many roadblocks and discrimination in matters such as economic freedom, education, healthcare and housing.[25] Opposition groups, government critics and human rights observers has labeled the Malaysian situation as being highly similar to apartheid policies due to their status as de facto second-class citizens.[26] Such policies has also led to a significant brain drain from the country.[27]

Citizenship

See also: Malaysian nationality law

Malaysians can acquire their citizenship in several ways. Anyone born to at least one Malaysian parent on Malaysian soil is considered to be a Malaysian citizen at birth. For persons born outside Malaysia, they will automatically become Malaysian citizen if they were born to a Malaysian father and their births were registered with Malaysian diplomatic missions within one year. However, a 2024 constitutional amendment has made it eligible for both overseas Malaysian father or mother to pass down their Malaysian citizenship to their overseas-born child, but this amendment has yet to officially come into force.

Malaysian citizens may lose their citizenship in two ways, either by voluntary renunciation, or deprivation by the Malaysian governtment if they were found to have voluntarily acquired foreign citizenship, voted in a foreign election, or acquired a foreign passport (but not including marriage).

A person who acquired his Malaysian citizenship by naturalization may also be deprived of his citizenship if he:

  1. is residing in a foreign country and has, for a period of five years, failed to register annually with Malaysian diplomatic missions of his intention to keep his Malaysian citizenship; or
  2. has committed disloyalty or treasonous acts against Malaysia.

Electoral rights

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.[28][29] 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.[30]

Population by continent

The list below is of the countries with significant Malaysian populations. Those shown first with exact counts are enumerations of Malaysians who have immigrated to those countries and are legally resident there, does not include those who were born there to one or two Malaysian parents, does not necessarily include those born in Malaysia to parents temporarily in Malaysia and moved with parents by right of citizenship rather than immigration, and does not necessarily include temporary expatriates.

Population of the Malaysia diaspora in 2019
Continent / Country Articles Overseas Malaysian Population
Africa 13,726
Libya 8,404[1]
Asia 1,278,839
Singapore Malaysians in Singapore 952,261[1]
Brunei 52,001[1][5]
China 26,248[1]
Taiwan 22,000[31]
Hong Kong 19,787[1]
India Malaysians in India 12,228[32][1]
Japan 10,561[11][12]
Indonesia 2,363[1]
Thailand 1,369[1]
Philippines 817[1]
Other Asian Countries 5,782[1]
Oceania 191,784
Australia Malaysian Australian 174,136[1][33]
New Zealand Malaysian New Zealander 17,464[1][34]
Europe 142,348
United Kingdom Malaysians in the United Kingdom 84,638[1]
Other European Countries 28,855[1]
Americas 103,455
United States Malaysian American 77,647[1]
Canada Malaysian Canadian 25,337[1][35]
Other America Countries 527[1]


Many Malaysians have relatives in Brunei, similar to Singapore, especially amongst ethnic Malays of Bruneian Malay origin residing in southern Sabah, Federal Territory of Labuan as well as northern Sarawak. There are approximately 9% Malaysian diaspora in Brunei, mostly expatriates working in the petroleum industry (Brunei Shell Petroleum oil company). Malaysians in India consist of expatriates and international students from Malaysia as well as Indian people of Malaysian descent and most of them are ethnic Malaysians of Indian origin, working as well as studying in the home country of their ancestors. In 2011, an estimated 2,500 Malaysians, mostly working for Malaysian-based companies as well as 2,000 students, reside in India, mainly in South India.[32]

The overseas Malaysian diaspora in Singapore is one of the largest with the number standing at 952,261 in 2019, making them the world's largest Malaysian diaspora community. Many Malaysians in Singapore are usually expatriates, working in various industries of the Singapore economy since its rapid industrialisation in the 1970s.[36] In 2010, according to the World Bank, there are 385,979 Singapore residents of Malaysian origin, including permanent residents and Singaporeans.[37]

At the 2016 Census 138,364 Australian residents stated that they were born in Malaysia.[38] As of 2006 census, there is around 14,547 Malaysian-born people lived in New Zealand.

The Malaysian community in the UK is one of the west's largest, this is mainly due to the influence of the British Empire on Malaysia. The 2001 UK Census recorded 49,886 Malaysian-born people, with September 2009 Office for National Statistics estimates putting the figure at around 63,000.

According to answers provided to an open-ended question included in the 2010 United States Census, 26,179 people said that their ancestry or ethnic origin was Malaysian. The Canada 2006 Census recorded 12 165 people self-identifying as Malaysian Canadian, but only 1 820 of these self-identified as exclusively Malaysian Canadian.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af "International migrant stock 2019". United Nations. Retrieved 25 June 2020. Figures includes Malaysians in UN member nations
  2. ^ "GE14: 500,000 Malaysian voters in Singapore to generate friction". The Malaysian Insider. 11 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  3. ^ "Total ancestry categories tallied for people with one or more ancestry categories reported 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 30 November 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. ^ "Leveraging on Malaysian diaspora". The Star. 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b Soong Siew Hoong (29 March 2012). "Some Statistics on Malaysian Working in Overseas Countries in OIC; Commonwealth; BRICS; PIIGS; UN" (PDF). Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  6. ^ Sara Cluster (21 August 2012). "Malaysia PM: study hard abroad and return home". The Pie News. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  7. ^ "2023.12 Foreign Residents by Nationality". 內政部移民署. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Malay in Saudi Arabia people group". 1 January 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination". 10 February 2014.
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ a b Statistical table of foreign resident statistics (formerly registered foreign national statistics)
  12. ^ a b "在留外国人統計（旧登録外国人統計） 在留外国人統計 月次 2022年6月 | ファイル | 統計データを探す".
  13. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20221130070654/http://priyadsouza.com/population-of-qatar-by-nationality-in-2017/ archived from the original
  14. ^ Immigrants in Brazil (2024, in Portuguese)
  15. ^ United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division (2017). "Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2017 revision" (Exel). United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Household Population by Country of Citizenship: Philippines, 2010" (PDF). 2010 Census of Population and Housing. Philippine Statistics Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Origin and background country by sex, by municipality, 1990–2021". Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  18. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20180207171749/http://www.bq-magazine.com/economy/socioeconomics/2015/08/bahrains-population-by-nationality archived from the original
  19. ^ Kuwait's population - by nationality archived from the original
  20. ^ "Статистические сведения по миграционной ситуации". Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  21. ^ Hugo, Graeme (November 2011). "Migration and Development in Malaysia: An emigration perspective". Asian Population Studies. 7 (3): 219–241. doi:10.1080/17441730.2011.608983.
  22. ^ "Putting the Malaysian diaspora into perspective". Stanford University. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  23. ^ a b c "The Heat Online - A different Malaysian perspective". Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  24. ^ "Lack of meritocracy among top reasons why Malaysians emigrate". www.dailyexpress.com.my. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  25. ^ Chew, Amy. "Malaysia's dangerous racial and religious trajectory". Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  26. ^ Jonathan Kent (11 March 2006). "Malaysia 'apartheid' row deepens". BBC. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  27. ^ "Social injustice main cause of country's brain drain". Malaysian Insider. 28 April 2011. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  28. ^ "High Commission of Malaysia". Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  29. ^ "Malaysia Votes » Exercising your right to vote as a student abroad". Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  30. ^ "Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia - GE13: Collect your unused ballots, EC tells overseas voters - Home". Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  31. ^ "2021.10Foreign Residents by Nationality". NATIONAL IMMIGRATION AGENCY, REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN). 13 December 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  32. ^ a b "MALAYSIANS IN INDIA TOLD TO REGISTER AT HIGH COMMISSION", Yahoo Malaysia News, 4 June 2011.
  33. ^ "2016 Census Community Profiles: Australia". Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  34. ^ "Table 8: New Zealand resident population born in Asia, 1986-2006" (PDF). Asia New Zealand Foundation. p. 12/14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  35. ^ a b "Ethnic Origin (247), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data". Canada 2006 Census. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  36. ^ Takashi, S. (2009). Across the Causeway: A Multi-dimensional Study of Malaysia-Singapore Relations. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 125. ISBN 978-9-812-30783-5.
  37. ^ "Malaysia Economic Monitor, The Brain Drain" (PDF). World Bank. April 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  38. ^ "2016 Census Community Profiles: Australia". Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Malaysian diaspora.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.