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Borneo

Borneo (/ˈbɔːrni/; also known as Kalimantan in the Indonesian language) is the third-largest island in the world, with an area of 748,168 km2 (288,869 sq mi). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda Islands, located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra.

Not to be confused with Brunei, Barneo, or Brno.

Geography

748,168 km2 (288,869 sq mi)

3rd

13,435 ft (4095 m)

Bandar Seri Begawan (pop. ~150,000)

Samarinda (pop. 842,691)

Kota Kinabalu (pop. 500,421)

21,258,000 (2023 Censuses)[1][2][3] (2023)

30.8/km2 (79.8/sq mi)

The island is politically divided among three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north, and Indonesia to the south.[4] Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory. In the north, the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak make up about 26% of the island. The population in Borneo is 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses).[1][2][3]


Additionally, the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan is situated on a small island just off the coast of Borneo. The sovereign state of Brunei, located on the north coast, comprises about 1% of Borneo's land area. A little more than half of the island is in the Northern Hemisphere, including Brunei and the Malaysian portion, while the Indonesian portion spans the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Etymology[edit]

The Native people of Borneo referred to their island as Pulu K'lemantang but not as an ethnic name, when the sixteenth century Portuguese explorer Jorge de Menezes made contact with the native which became the name for modern-day Indonesian Borneo.[5][6][7] The term kelamantan is used in Sarawak to refer to a group of people who consume sago in the northern part of the island.[8] According to Crowfurd, the word kelamantan is the name of a type of mango (Mangifera) so the island of Borneo is called a mango island by the native. But he adds that the word is fanciful and unpopular.[9] The local mango, called klemantan, is still widely found in rural areas in Ketapang and surrounding areas of West Kalimantan.[10]


Internationally it is known as Borneo, derived from European contact with the Brunei kingdom in the 16th century during the Age of Exploration. On a map from around 1601, Brunei city is referred to as Borneo, and the whole island is also labelled Borneo.[11][12] The name Borneo may derive from the Sanskrit word váruṇa (वरुण), meaning either "water" or Varuna, the Hindu god of rain.[13]


Another source said it was from the Sanskrit word Kalamanthana, meaning "burning weather" possibly to describe its hot and humid tropical weather.[14] In Indianized malay era the name Kalamanthana was derived from Sanskrit terms kala (time or season) and manthana (churning, kindling or creating fire by friction),[15] which possibly describes the heat of the weather.[16]


In 977, Chinese records began to use the term Bo-ni to refer to Borneo. In 1225, it was also mentioned by the Chinese official Chau Ju-Kua (趙汝适).[17] The Javanese manuscript Nagarakretagama, written by Majapahit court poet Mpu Prapanca in 1365, mentioned the island as Nusa Tanjungnagara, which means the island of the Tanjungpura Kingdom.[18]

cover most of the island, with an area of 427,500 square kilometres (165,100 sq mi).

Borneo lowland rain forests

Borneo peat swamp forests

or Sundaland heath forests

Kerangas

are found in the island's western and southern lowlands

Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests

Sunda Shelf mangroves

The lie in the central highlands of the island, above the 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) elevation.

Borneo montane rain forests

The highest elevations of are home to the Kinabalu montane alpine meadows, a subalpine and alpine shrubland notable for its numerous endemic species, including many orchids.

Mount Kinabalu

  Provincial/State capital

  National capital

The independent of Brunei (main part and eastern exclave of Temburong)

sultanate

The provinces of East, South, West, North and Central Kalimantan, in Kalimantan

Indonesian

The states of Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the Federal Territory of Labuan (on offshore islands nearby)

East Malaysian

The island of Borneo is divided administratively by three countries.

Hikayat Banjar

Kutai basin

List of islands of Indonesia

List of islands of Malaysia

Maphilindo

List of bats of Borneo

Borneo travel guide from Wikivoyage

Media related to Borneo at Wikimedia Commons

– Background on Borneo, including natural and social history, deforestation statistics, and conservation news.

Environmental Profile of Borneo