Sarawak, the Land of Hornbills, is one of the 13th states and the largest state in the Federation of Malaysia. It covers an area of 124,450 sq. km. in north west of Borneo, which is almost 37% of the total size of the whole of Malaysia. Sarawak enjoys an extensive coastline of 720 km along the South China Sea. It is bounded by Brunei on the north, Sabah on the northeast and Kalimantan Indonesia on the south, all in Borneo, the third largest island in the world.

The State of Sarawak is generally rugged and topographically complex. Swampy plains extend along most of the coastal areas, backed by a broad belt of undulating lowland intersected by many rivers, which merge out from the mountainous interior. Sarawak is still covered by primary forests and large portions of the area are practically uninhabited. The remaining land is mainly used for agricultural purposes.

Administrative Divisions

As of end 2001, Sarawak was administratively divided into 9 Divisions. However, as of end of March 2002, 2 more new Divisions were created out of the existing 9 Divisions, totaling to 11 Divisions. The Divisions are as follow:

• Kuching Division
• Samarahan Division
• Sri Aman Division
• Sarikei Division
• Sibu Division
• Kapit Division
• Bintulu Division
• Miri Division
• Limbang Division
• Mukah Division
• Betong Division

Each Division is headed by a Resident who is assisted by District Officers each taking charge of a district. There are 31 districts in Sarawak.

Climate

Sarawak lies just above the Equator from latitude 0º 51’ N to 5º N and extends from 109º 36’ to 115º 40’ E Merindians of longitude. It has a hot-wet equatorial climate.

Sarawak enjoys a tropical climate with coverage daytime temperature between 24º C to 32º C.

Population

The current population of Sarawak is about 2.1 million.

Sarawak is the most multiracial state in Malaysia with 27 ethnic groups living harmoniously together. The main ethnic groups are Ibans, Chinese, Malays, Bidayuhs, Melanau, and Orang Ulu.