Demography

Demography

The state has the highest population density in Malaysia with 2,457.33 people per square kilometre on the island and 1,055.77 people per square kilometre on the mainland. It is also the only non-Malay dominated state in Malaysia. Penang is the only state in Malaysia where ethnic Chinese forms a plurality. The ethnic composition in 2008 was:

* Ethnic Chinese: 635,000 (41.8%)
* Malay: 613,800 (40.5%)
* Ethnic Indian: 158,000 (10.4%)
* Others:
o Bumiputra - other than Malay: 6,200 (0.4%)
o Other races: 6,400 (0.4%)
o Non-Malaysian citizens: 98,600 (6.5%)

There were Jewish and Armenian communities in Penang before World War II, but these dissipated as a result of the Japanese occupation and the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. A small but commercially significant community of German merchants also existed in Penang. Today, Penang has a sizeable expatriate population especially from Japan and Britain, many of which settle in Penang after their retirement as part of the Malaysia My Second Home programme.

-information courtesy of wikipedia-