Map of Sabah

History

The earliest known human settlement in the region existed 20,000–30,000 years ago, as evidenced by stone tools and food remains found by excavations along the Darvel Bay area at Madai-Baturong caves near the Tingkayu River. The earliest inhabitants in the area were thought to be similar to Aboriginal Australians, but the reason for their disappearance is unknown. In 2003, archaeologists discovered the Mansuli valley in the Lahad Datu District, which dates back 235,000 years. The archaeological site at Skull Hill (Bukit Tengkorak) in Semporna District was the largest pottery making site in Neolithic Southeast Asia.

During the 7th century AD, a settled community known as Vijayapura, a tributary to the Srivijaya empire, was thought to have existed in northwest Borneo.

Geography

The total land area of Sabah is nearly 73,904 square kilometres (28,534 sq mi) surrounded by the South China Sea in the west, Sulu Sea in the northeast and Celebes Sea in the southeast. Sabah has a total of 1,743 kilometres (1,083 mi) coastline, of which 295.5 kilometres (183.6 mi) have been eroding. Because of Sabah coastline facing three seas, the state receive an extensive marine resources. In 1961, Sabah including neighbouring Sarawak, which had been included in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) through the participation of the United Kingdom, became joint associate members of the IMO. Its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is much larger towards the South China Sea and Celebes Sea than to the Sulu Sea. The state coastline is covered with mangrove and nipah forests.

Economy

Sabah's economy is mainly based on primary sector such as agriculture, forestry and petroleum. Currently, the tertiary sector plays an important part to the state economy, especially in tourism and services. With its richness in biodiversity, the state is offering ecotourism. Although in recent years the tourism industry has been affected by attacks and kidnapping of tourists by militant groups based in the southern Philippines, it remained stable with the increase of security in eastern Sabah and the Sulu Sea. The tourism sector contribute 10% share of the state Gross domestic product (GDP) and was predicted to increase more. Majority of the tourists come from China (60.3%), followed by South Korea (33.9%), Australia (16.3%) and Taiwan (8.3%).

Demographics

According to the 2020 Malaysian census, the population of Sabah stands at 3,418,785, making Sabah the third most populous state in Malaysia with the highest non-citizen population at 810,443. However, as Malaysia is one of the least densely populated countries in Asia, Sabah is particularly sparsely populated with most of the population concentrated in the coastal areas since towns and urban centres have massively expanded.