Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city of Malaysia in terms of population. The city proper, making up an area of 244 km² (94 sq mi), has an estimated population of 1.6 million in 2006. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million. It is the fastest growing metropolitan region in the country, in terms of population and economy.

Kuala Lumpur is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia. The city was once home to the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, but they have since moved to Putrajaya starting in 1999. Some sections of the judiciary remain in the capital. The official residence of the Malaysian King, the Istana Negara, is also situated in Kuala Lumpur. Rated as an alpha world city, Kuala Lumpur is the cultural, financial and economic centre of Malaysia due to its position as the capital as well as being a primate city.

Kuala Lumpur is defined within the borders of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and is one of three Malaysian Federal Territories. It is an enclave within the state of Selangor, on the central west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Residents of the city are colloquially known as KLites.

Since the 1990s, the city has played host to many international sporting, political and cultural events including the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the Formula One World Championship. In addition, Kuala Lumpur is home to the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers, which have become a symbol of Malaysia's development.

Protected by the Titiwangsa Mountains in the east and Indonesia's Sumatra Island in the west, Kuala Lumpur has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af) which is warm and sunny, along with abundant rainfall, especially during the northeast monsoon season from October to March. Temperatures tend to remain constant. Maximums hover between 31 and 33 °C (88 and 91 °F) and have never exceeded 37.2 °C (99.0 °F), while minimums hover between 22 and 23.5 °C (72 and 74 °F) and have never fallen below 17.7 °C (63.9 °F). Kuala Lumpur typically receives 2,266 mm (89.2 in) of rain annually; June and July are relatively dry, but even then rainfall typically exceeds 120 millimetres (4.7 in) per month.

Flooding is a frequent occurrence in Kuala Lumpur whenever there is a heavy downpour, especially in the city centre and downstream areas. Dust particles from forest fires from nearby Sumatra sometimes cast a haze over the region. It is a major source of pollution in the city together with open burning, emission from motor vehicles and construction work.

Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding urban areas form the most industrialized and economically, the fastest growing region in Malaysia. Despite the relocation of federal government administration to Putrajaya, certain government’s important machineries such as Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Bank of Malaysia), Companies Commission of Malaysia and Securities Commission as well as most embassies and diplomatic missions have remained in the city.

The city remains as the economic and business center of the country. Kuala Lumpur is a center for finance, insurance, real estate, media and the arts of Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur is rated as an alpha world city, and is the only global city in Malaysia, according to the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC).Kuala Lumpur International Airport at Sepang, the creation of the Multimedia Super CorridorPort Klang further reinforce the economic significance of the city. The infrastructure development in the surrounding areas such as the and the expansion of

Bursa Malaysia or the Malaysia Exchange is based in the city and forms one of its core economic activities. As of 20 November 2007, the market capitalisation stood at US$318.65 billion.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Kuala Lumpur is estimated at RM73,536 million in 2008 with an average annual growth rate of 5.9 percent. The per capita GDP for Kuala Lumpur in 2008 is RM48,556 with an average annual growth rate of 5.9 percent. The total employment in Kuala Lumpur is estimated at around 838,400. The service sector comprising finance, insurance, real estate, business services, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels, transport, storage and communication, utilities, personal services and government services form the largest component of employment representing about 83.0 percent of the total. The remaining 17 percent comes from manufacturing and construction.

Other important economic activities in the city are education and health services. Kuala Lumpur also has advantages stemming from the high concentration of educational institutions located within its boundaries, providing a wide range of courses. Such public institutions include the International Islamic University Malaysia, University of Malaya, the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, International Medical University and the Medical Faculty of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. There are also a large number of private colleges, including the Universiti Tun Abdul Razak and Tunku Abdul Rahman College, in and around Kuala Lumpur providing a wide range of courses which attract students from all over Malaysia as well as from other countries. There are numerous public and private medical specialist centres and hospitals in the city which offer general health services and a wide range of specialist surgery and treatment catering to locals and tourists.

There has been growing emphasis to expand the economic scope of the city into other service activities such as research and development which supports the rest of the economy of Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur has been home for years to important research centers such as the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia, the Forest Research Institute Malaysia and the Institute of Medical Research and more research centers are expected to be established in the coming years.

Tourism

The tourism sector also plays an important part in the city’s economy, providing income, employment and expanding business opportunities. As an extension of this, many large worldwide hotel chains have presence in the city. Kuala Lumpur is the fifth most visited city in the world, with 8.94 million tourist arrivals in 2008. Kuala Lumpur has also developed into an international shopping destination with a wide variety of shopping centres and megamalls which carry well-known global and local brands. Conference tourism—which mainly encompass conventions—has also expanded in recent years and is becoming a very important component of the industry.

The major tourist destinations in Kuala Lumpur include the Dataran Merdeka (the Independence Square), the House of Parliament, the Istana Budaya, the Istana Negara (National Palace), the Kuala Lumpur Tower, the Muzium Negara (National Museum), the Putra World Trade Centre, the Tugu Negara (National Monument) and mosques such as the Masjid Jamek, the Masjid Negara (National Mosque) and the Federal Territory Mosque.

Other tourist attractions include the Aquaria KLCC, the Batu Caves, the Makam Pahlawan (National Mausoleum), the National Science Centre, Petaling Street, the Royal Selangor pewter visitor centre, the Zoo Negara (National Zoo), and events such as Malay cultural centres, the Chinese cultural festivals at the Thean Hou Temple and the Thaipusam procession at the Sri Mahamariamman Temple. The Golden Triangle, the commercial hub of the city, contains the Petronas Twin Towersnightclubs, bars and lounges, such as the Beach Club, Espanda, the Hakka Republic Wine Bar & Restaurant, Hard Rock Cafe, the Luna Bar, Nuovo, Rum Jungle, the Thai Club, Zouk, and many others are located within and around Jalan P. Ramlee, Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Ampang. and has a distinctive nightlife. Trendy

Hotels, from five-star to budget types, have cropped up everywhere to accommodate the influx of tourists each year. There are many hotels near Kuala Lumpur's entertainment and business districts.

Retail

Kuala Lumpur alone has 66 shopping malls and it is the retail and fashion hub for Malaysia. Shopping in Malaysia contributed RM7.7 billion (USD 2.26 billion) or 20.8 percent of the RM31.9 billion tourism receipts in 2006. and Kuala Lumpur plays a big role in attracting consumers.

Suria KLCC is one of Malaysia's premier shopping destinations due to its location beneath the Petronas Twin Towers.

Apart from Suria KLCC, Bukit Bintang, which resembles Tokyo's Ginza, New York's Fifth Avenue and Singapore's Orchard Road has the highest concentration of shopping outlets in Kuala Lumpur. Bukit Bintang, which is part of the Kuala Lumpur's Golden Triangle, spans over 3 roads, namely Jalan Bukit Bintang, Jalan Imbi and Jalan Sultan Ismail. It houses various cafes, alfresco (open air) dining outlets and shopping complexes such as Berjaya Plaza, Berjaya Times Square, Bukit Bintang Plaza, Imbi Plaza, Kuala Lumpur Plaza, Lot 10, Low Yat Plaza, Starhill Gallery and Sungei Wang Plaza. It is also the location of the largest single department store in Malaysia, SOGO Kuala Lumpur (also known as KL SOGO) which is located at a landmark site on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, one of the best known shopping streets for locals in Kuala Lumpur.

The Bangsar district also has a few shopping complexes, including Bangsar Village, Bangsar Shopping Centre, Mid Valley Megamall and The Gardens. The DamansaraIKEA outlet in the country, and a cluster of locally-operated malls like Cathay Multi Screen Cinemas, The Curve, Ikano Power Centre and One Utama. subdivision north-west of Kuala Lumpur, though not in the city-proper, is the home of the only

Apart from shopping complexes, Kuala Lumpur has designated numerous zones in the city to market locally manufactured products such as textiles, fabrics and handicrafts. The Chinatown of Kuala Lumpur, commonly known as Petaling Street, is one of them. Chinatown features many pre-independence buildings with Straits Chinese and European traditions influence.^[64][65] Kuala Lumpur's Central Market (Pasar Seni), which was once the city's wet market, offers an assortment of arts and craft merchandise, varying from antiques and paintings to souvenirs and clothing.

In 2000, the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism introduced the mega sale event for shopping in Malaysia. The mega sale event is held thrice in a year—in March, May and December—where all shopping malls are encouraged to participate to boost Kuala Lumpur as a leading shopping destination.

Demographics

Kuala Lumpur is the most populous city in Malaysia, with an estimated population of 1.58 million in the city proper as of 2006. It has a population density of 6,502 inhabitants per square kilometre (16,840 /sq mi), and is the most densely populated administrative district in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur is a primate city as it has an estimated metropolitan population of 6.9 million as of 2007. The continuing decline in the birth rate for Kuala Lumpur has resulted in the decline in the proportion of young people below 15 years old from 33% in 1980 to slightly less than 27% in 2000. On the other hand, the working age group of 15–59 increased from 63% in 1980 to 67% in 2000. The elderly age group, 60 years old and above has increased from 4% in 1980 and 1991 to 6% in 2000.

Bahasa Malaysia—the national language, is the principal language of Kuala Lumpur. Other major languages spoken in the city are Cantonese, Mandarin, and Tamil. English has a strong presence, especially in business and is a compulsory language taught in schools. Similar to most other Malaysian cities, Kuala Lumpur has a heterogeneous populace that is constituted by the country's three major ethnic groups: the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians, although the city also has a mix of different cultures including Eurasians, as well as Kadazans, Ibans and other indigenous races from East Malaysia and Peninsula Malaysia. According to the 2000 census by the Department of Statistics, the percentage of the Bumiputera population in Kuala Lumpur was around 38% in 2000 (next census is in 2010), while the Chinese population comprised 43% and Indians 10%. A notable phenomenon has been the increase in the presence of foreign residents in Kuala Lumpur, who now constitute about 9% of the city’s population.

Kuala Lumpur's rapid development triggered a huge influx of low-skilled foreign workers from Indonesia, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and Vietnam into Malaysia, many of these low-skilled workers enter the country illegally or without proper permits. However, at the same time there are more than 750,000 Malaysians abroad,in countries like France, the UK, and Australia and Europe. In the UK in particular many enter the country on holiday visas and overstay and work illegally. This has been a source of tension in the media recently between the UK border force and Air Asia and the Malaysian High Commission in London.

In the late-18th century, when Europe underwent the Industrial Revolution, large groups of Chinese from Fujian and Guangdong in China were brought in to Malaya The Chinese in Kuala Lumpur speak different dialects but the majority in Kuala Lumpur are of Cantonese descent, and the Hakkas. to work in the booming tin mining industry.

Indians, who formed 10% of the population of Kuala Lumpur in 2000, mostly practise Hinduism and speak Tamil and other Indian languages such as Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Punjabi. Historically, most of the Indians were brought in during the British colonisation of the Malaysia. Their popular festivals are Thaipusam, Deepavali and Pongal.

Islam is practised primarily by the Malays and the Indian Muslim communities. Other major religions are Hinduism (mainly among Indians), Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism (mainly among Chinese) and Christianity. The city has many places of worship catering to the multi-religious population.

The average monthly household income for Kuala Lumpur was RM4,105 (USD 1,324) in 1999, up from RM3,371 (USD 1,087) four years prior, making it 66% higher than the national average. In terms of household income distribution, 23.5% of households in the city earned more than RM5,000 (USD 1,613) per month compared to 9.8% for the entire country, while 8.1% earned less than RM1,000 (USD 323) a month. The most common crimes in Kuala Lumpur are snatch thefts, robberies and motor vehicle theft.

Cityscape

Kuala Lumpur skyline at night

Architecture

The Petronas Twin Towers at dusk.

The architecture of Kuala Lumpur is a blend of old colonial influences, Asian traditions, Malay Islamic inspirations, modern, and postmodern architecture mix. Being a relatively young city compared with other Southeast Asian capitals such as Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila, most of Kuala Lumpur's colonial buildings were built toward the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. These buildings have Moorish, Tudor, Neo-Gothic or Grecian-Spanish style or architecture. Most of the styling has been modified to use local resources and acclimatised to the local climate, which is hot and humid all year around.

Prior to the Second World War, many shophouses, usually two storeys with functional shops on the ground floor and separate residential spaces upstairs, were built around the old city centre. These shop-houses drew inspiration from Straits Chinese and European traditions. Some of these shophouses have made way for new developments but there are still many standing today around Medan Pasar (Old Market Square), Chinatown, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Doraisamy, Bukit Bintang and Tengkat Tong Shin areas.

Independence coupled with the rapid economic growth from the 1970s to the 1990s and with Islam being the official religion in the country, has resulted in the construction of buildings with a more local and Islamic flavour arise around the city. Many of these buildings derive their design from traditional Malay items such as the songkok and the keris. Some of these buildings have Islamic geometric motifs integrated with the designs of the building, signifying Islamic restriction on imitating nature through drawings. Examples of these buildings are Menara Telekom, Menara Maybank, Dayabumi Complex, and the Islamic Center. Some buildings such as the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia and National Planetarium have been built to masquerade as a place of worship, complete with dome and minaret, when in fact it is a place of science and knowledge. The 452-metre (1,483 ft) tall Petronas Twin Towers are the tallest twin buildings in the world. They were designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art.

Late modern and postmodern architecture began to appear in the late-1990s and early-2000s. With the economic development, old buildings such as Bok HousePetronas Twin Towers and Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. As of, September 2010 Kuala Lumpur's central business district today has shifted around the Kuala Lumpur city centre (KLCC) where many new and tall buildings with modern and postmodern architecture fill the skyline. have been razed to make way for new ones. Buildings with all-glass shells exist throughout the city, with the most prominent examples being the

Parks

Kuala Lumpur City Centre Park.

The Perdana Lake Gardens, a 92-hectare (230-acre) manicured garden near the Malaysian Parliament building, was once home to a British colonial official. The park includes a Butterfly Park, Deer Park, Orchid Garden, Hibiscus Garden and the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, Southeast Asia's largest bird park. Other parks in the city include the ASEAN Sculpture Garden, KLCC Park, Titiwangsa Lake Gardens, Metropolitan Lake Gardens in Kepong, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Taman Tasik Permaisuri (Queen’s Lake Gardens), Bukit Kiara Botanical Gardens, Equestrian Park and West Valley Park near TTDI, and Bukit Jalil International Park.

There are three forest reserves within the city namely the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve in the city centre, the oldest gazetted forest reserve in the country 10.52 ha/26.0 acres, Bukit Sungai Putih Forest Reserve (7.41 ha/18.3 acres) and Bukit Sungai Besi Forest Reserve (42.11 ha/104.1 acres). Bukit Nanas, in the heart of the city centre, is one of the oldest virgin forests in the world within a city. These residual forest areas are home to a number of fauna species particularly monkeys, tree shrews, squirrels and birds.

Unlike most other Asian cities, driving is the main mode of commuting in Kuala Lumpur. Hence, every part of the city is well connected by highways. As capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur has a comprehensive road network that leads to the rest of Peninsular Malaysia.

In terms of air connectivity, Kuala Lumpur is served by two airports. The main airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at Sepang, Selangor, which is also the aviation hub of Malaysia, is located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of city. The other airport is Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, formerly known as Subang International Airport and served as the main international gateway to Kuala Lumpur from 1965 until KLIA opened in 1998. KLIA connects the city with direct flights to destinations in six continents around the world, and is the main hub for the national carrier, Malaysia Airlines and low-cost carrier, AirAsia. KLIA can be reached using the KLIA Ekspres high-speed train service from KL Sentral which takes twenty-eight minutes, while travelling by car via highway will take about an hour. Air Asia flights do not fly out of KLIA main terminal but from the Low Cost Carrier terminal, which is served by buses from KL Sentral, and is a 20-30 minute taxi ride from the main terminal. As of 2007, Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport is only used for chartered and turboprop flights by airlines such as Firefly and Berjaya Air.

KL Sentral at night.

Public transport in Kuala Lumpur and the rest of the Klang Valley covers a variety of transport modes such as bus, rail and taxi. Despite efforts to promote usage of public transportation, utilisation rates are low as only 16 percent of the population used public transportation in 2006. Rail transport in Kuala Lumpur encompasses light rail, rapid transit, monorail and commuter rail. Kuala Lumpur is served by three separate rail systems which meet in the city and extend towards other parts of the Klang Valley, namely RapidKL Light Rail Transit, KL Monorail, and KTM Komuter. These lines have underground, elevated or at-grade stations around the city. The main rapid transit hub is KL Sentral which facilitates as an interchange station for the rail systems. KL Sentral is also a hub for intercity railway operated by KTM Intercity. It provides rail services to as far as Singapore in the south, and Hat Yai, Thailand, in the north.

Platform of the KLCC LRT station along the Kelana Jaya Line (Putra LRT) in Kuala Lumpur.

The largest public transportation operator in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley is RapidKL. Since the take over from Intrakota Komposit Sdn Bhd, RapidKL has redrawn the entire bus network of Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley metropolitan area to increase ridership and improve Kuala Lumpur's public transportation system. The management of RapidKL has adopted the hub and spoke system to provide greater connectivity, and cut down the need of more buses. RapidKL is also the operator of two light rail lines in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley, namely Ampang Line and Kelana Jaya Line.

In Kuala Lumpur, most taxis have distinctive white and red liveries. Kuala Lumpur is one of the major ASEAN city with taxis extensively running on natural gas. Taxis can be hailed from taxi stands or from the streets. Nevertheless, taxis are known to charge high rates for foreigners.

Kuala Lumpur is served by Port Klang, located about 64 km (40 mi) southwest of the city. The port is the largest and busiest in the country handling about 6.3 million Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of cargo in 2006.