^a Despite the fact that the Federation of Malaysia only came into existence on 16 September 1963, 31 August is celebrated as the Independence day of Malaysia. Since 2010, 16 September is recognised as Malaysia Day, a patriotic national-level public holiday to commemorate the foundation of Federation of Malaysia that joined North Borneo (Sabah), Malaya, Sarawak and (previously) Singapore as states of equal partners in the federation.

Origin	Estimation (+)
Immigration to Sabah
Philippines	1,000,000
Indonesia	500,000
China / Taiwan	200,000
Brunei	70,000
India	7,000
South Korea	2,000
Pakistan	1,000
Japan	300
Thailand	200
East Timor	100

Sabah (Malay pronunciation: [saˈbah]), nicknamed Negeri Di Bawah Bayu ("Land Below the Wind"), is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo (Sarawak being the other state). This territory has a certain level of autonomy in administration, immigration, and judiciary which differentiates it from the Malaysian Peninsula states. Sabah is situated in northern Borneo, bordering the state of Sarawak to the southwest, Kalimantan of Indonesia to the south, while separated by sea from the Federal Territory of Labuan and shares maritime borders with Vietnam in the west and the Philippines to the north and east. Kota Kinabalu is the capital city as well the economic centre for the state and the seat for the Sabah state government. Other major towns in Sabah include Sandakan and Tawau. As of the 2015 census in Malaysia, the state's population is 3,543,500. Sabah has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests and abundant animal and plant species. The state has a long mountain ranges in the west side which formed as part of the Crocker Range National Park. Kinabatangan River is the second longest river in Malaysia while Mount Kinabalu is the highest point of Sabah as well for Malaysia.

Earliest human settlements in Sabah can be traced back since to 20,000–30,000 years ago along the Darvel Bay area at Madai-Baturong caves. The state had a trading relationship with China since the 14th century AD. It came under the influence of the Bruneian Empire in the 15th century and the Sultanate of Sulu between the 17th–18th centuries. The state was then governed by the North Borneo Chartered Company in the 19th–20th centuries. During World War II, the state was occupied by the Japanese for three years before being ceded as a British Crown Colony in 1946. On 31 August 1963, Sabah was granted self-government by the British. Following this, Sabah became one of the founding members of the Federation of Malaysia (established on 16 September 1963) alongside Sarawak, Singapore (expelled in 1965), and the Federation of Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia). However, the federation was opposed by Indonesia, which led to the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation for over three years along with the threats of annexation from the Philippines which existed until today.

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