A chronology of key events:
14th century - Conversion of Malays to Islam begins.
1826 - British settlements of Malacca, Penang and Singapore combine to form the Colony of Straits Settlements, from where the British extend their influence by establishing protectorates over the Malay sultanates of the peninsula.
1895 - Four Malay states combine to form the Federated Malay States.
1942-45 - Japanese occupation.
1948 - British-ruled Malayan territories unified under Federation of Malaya.
1948-60 - State of emergency to counter local communist insurgency.
1957 - Federation of Malaya becomes independent from Britain with Tunku Abdul Rahman as prime minister.
1963 - British colonies of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore join Federation of Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia.
1965 - Singapore withdraws from Malaysia, which is reduced to 13 states; communist insurgency begins in Sarawak.
1969 - Malays stage anti-Chinese riots in the context of increasing frustration over the economic success of the ethnic Chinese.
1970 - Tun Abdul Razak becomes prime minister following Abdul Rahman's resignation; forms National Front (BN) coalition.
Positive discrimination for Malays
1971 - Government introduces minimum quotas for Malays in business, education and the civil service.
1977 - Kelantan chief minister expelled from Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), triggering unrest, a national emergency and the expulsion of PAS from the BN coalition.
1978-89 - Vietnamese refugees benefit from unrestricted asylum.
1981 - Mahathir Mohamad becomes prime minister.
1989 - Local communist insurgents sign peace accord with government.
1990 - Sarawak communist insurgents sign peace accord with government.
1993 - Sultans lose legal immunity.
Financial crisis
1997 - Asian financial crisis spells end of decade of impressive economic growth.
1998 - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sacks his deputy and presumed successor, Anwar Ibrahim, on charges of sexual misconduct, against the background of differences between the two men over economic policy; Ibrahim arrested.
2000 - Ibrahim is found guilty of sodomy and sentenced to nine years in prison. This is added to the six-year jail sentence he was given in 1999 after being found guilty of corruption following a controversial trial.
2001 - Dozens arrested during worst ethnic clashes in decades between Malays and ethnic Indians. Demonstrations against the Internal Security Act following the detention without trial of supporters of Anwar Ibrahim. Malaysia, Singapore resolve long-standing disputes, agree to build a new bridge and tunnel.
Mahathir bows out
2002 August - Tough new laws against illegal immigrants come into effect, providing for whipping and prison terms for offenders. Laws prompt exodus of foreign workers.
2003 October - Abdullah Ahmad Badawi takes over as prime minister as Mahathir Mohamad steps down after 22 years in office.
2004 - Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi wins landslide general election victory. Former deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim freed after court overturns his sodomy conviction. Scores of Malaysians die in Asian tsunami disaster. Malaysia delays planned deportations of many thousands of illegal immigrants, most of them from Indonesia.
2005 - Malaysia, Singapore settle a bitter dispute over land reclamation work in border waters. Round-up of illegal immigrants follows a four-month amnesty which sees an exodus of hundreds of thousands of illegal workers. Those remaining risk jail, a fine or whipping.
2006 - Malaysia shelves construction of controversial bridge to Singapore. Some 60,000 displaced by flooding in the south.
2007 - Around 70,000 evacuated as second wave of floods hits south of country. Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam sign deal to protect 200,000 square kilometres of rainforest on the island of Borneo. Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat loses a bitterly contested by-election to the government. The result is seen as a blow to his efforts to revive his political career.
2008 - Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's National Front coalition suffers its worst election result in decades, losing its two-thirds parliamentary majority and control of five state assemblies. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is arrested over allegations of sodomy, in a move that exacerbates political tensions.
Economic downturn
2009 - Malaysia bans recruitment of foreign workers to protect its citizens from unemployment during the economic downturn. Anwar Ibrahim's second sodomy trial begins. The government unveils a $16bn economic stimulus plan as it seeks to stave off a deep recession. Badawi steps down as prime minister and is replaced by his deputy, Najib Abdul Razak.
2010 - Religious tensions increase following a court decision allowing non-Muslims to use the word Allah to refer to God. Three Malay women are flogged for extra-marital sex in the first case of this Islamic punishment being meted out to women in the country. Decision by Malacca state to allow underage marriages draws criticism from women's groups.
2011 - Police use tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of people taking part in Kuala Lumpur rally calling for electoral reform. PM Razak announces setting-up of parliamentary committee to study electoral reform.
2012 January - High Court acquits opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of charge of sodomy.
2012 February - Some 3,000 environmental activists take part in protest against building of rare earths refinery in Pahang state.
2012 June - A Malaysian court approves the extradition of Iranian Masoud Sedaghatzadeh to Thailand over his alleged involvement in a bomb plot targeting Israeli officials in February.
2013 March - Malaysian troops attack Filipino insurgents around Lahad Datu on Borneo after local clashes leave about 30 people dead. The roughly 180 Filipinos are demanding the cessation of part of Sabah state to the defunct Sultanate of Sulu.
2013 May - Ruling National Front coalition retains power in national elections.
