Borneo

About

Borneo () is the third-largest island in the world, with an area of 748,168 km2 (288,869 sq mi), and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). 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. The island is crossed by the equator, which divides it roughly in half. In Indonesia, the island is also known as Kalimantan, which is also the name of the Indonesian region located on the island.

The geology of Borneo was formed beginning in the Mesozoic. It formed part of Sundaland, a region connected to mainland Asia, until it became isolated by sea level rise at the end of the last ice age. With seven unique ecoregions, including large expanses of some of the oldest tropical rainforests in the world, Borneo is rich in biodiversity and endemic species.

Archaeological evidence suggests Borneo has been inhabited by humans for over 65,000 years. Borneo is home to hundreds of different Indigenous groups, cultures and languages, loosely grouped under the term "Dayak". International trading ports were well established on Borneo by the first millennium. It was later subsumed into the Majapahit Empire.

The Sultanate of Sulu later ruled much of the island's North, and at its peak in the 14th century, the Sultanate of Brunei governed most of its coast; meanwhile, Borneo's interior remained largely outside of their control. Borneo was later colonised by the British and Dutch, and occupied by Japan during World War II.

Since the decolonisation of Asia, the island has been politically divided among three states, with the borders broadly following previous demarcation between the British and Dutch. The sovereign state of Brunei in the north makes up 1% of the territory.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.