Sabah Population 2026: 3.77 Million, KK & Districts
Sabah had about 3.77 million people in 2026 (OpenDOSM population by state, checked 7 October 2026), the third most populous state in Malaysia. At the 2020 census it had 3,418,785 people in 27 districts, 23.7% of them non-citizens, and 54.7% lived in urban areas.
Sabah’s population grew almost sixfold between the 1970 census and 2025. Average growth was 5.4% a year between 1980 and 1991 and 0.9% a year between 2010 and 2020.
Source: DOSM Census 2020 Key Findings, Sabah, Table 2 (1970–2020); DOSM population_state (2025)
Sabah at a glance
Sabah is Malaysia’s third most populous state, behind Selangor and Johor, with 11.0% of the country’s people in 2026. It is also the second-largest state by area after Sarawak, and its density was 51 people per km² in 2026 (DOSM Current Population Estimates 2026, checked 7 October 2026). The west coast around Kota Kinabalu is the most densely settled; interior districts such as Nabawan (28,349 people in 2020) and Tambunan (31,573) are sparsely populated.
Sabah’s population is also unusually varied. The census records Kadazan/Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Orang Sungai, Suluk, Brunei Malay, Rungus, Bisaya and many smaller Sabah Bumiputera groups, alongside Chinese and Malay communities and 810,443 non-citizens in 2020.
Ethnic composition
No single group is a majority. At the 2020 census the Kadazan/Dusun were the largest group, with 660,777 people (19.3% of all residents, 25.3% of citizens), followed by the Bajau with 565,499 (16.5% of residents).
Kadazan/Dusun and Bajau together made up 35.9% of Sabah’s residents and 47.0% of its citizens in 2020. Non-citizens were 23.7%.
Source: DOSM Census 2020 Key Findings, Sabah, Table 5
This page focuses on the numbers. For the cultural and historical story of each community, see our Ethnic Groups of Sabah pillar — it covers languages, traditions, festivals, and where to experience each culture today.
Religion
Islam is the largest religion in Sabah, at 69.6% of residents in 2020, and Christianity the second, at 24.7%, far above its 9.1% share nationally (DOSM).
69.6% Muslim, 24.7% Christian and 5.1% Buddhist at the 2020 census.
Source: DOSM Census 2020 Key Findings, Sabah, Table 2
Population by district
Sabah’s 27 administrative districts have wildly different population sizes. The three biggest — Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau — had 1.31 million people between them in 2020, 38.4% of the state. Six districts had fewer than 40,000 people each.
Kota Kinabalu is the largest district. With Penampang and Putatan, the Kota Kinabalu area had about 731,000 people in 2020.
Source: DOSM Census 2020 Key Findings, Sabah, Table 3
The three big cities
- Kota Kinabalu (500,421; about 731,000 with Penampang and Putatan) — state capital, main airport, tourism and government centre.
- Sandakan (439,050) — the state capital until 1946, and the gateway to the Kinabatangan River and Sepilok.
- Tawau (372,615) — the main town of the south-east coast, near the Indonesian border.
Growth and trends
Sabah’s population grew fastest in the 1970s and 1980s: an average of 3.8% a year between 1970 and 1980 and 5.4% a year between 1980 and 1991, then 3.9% to 2000, 2.3% to 2010 and 0.9% to 2020 (DOSM Census 2020, Table 2). DOSM's July 2026 estimates put growth at 0.3% in both 2025 and 2026 (DOSM Current Population Estimates 2026, checked 7 October 2026).
Before the 2020 census, DOSM estimated Sabah’s 2019 population at 3.90 million. The census counted 3,418,785, and DOSM rebased its estimates on the census. The non-citizen count was 810,443 in 2020, against 867,190 at the 2010 census. The drop was a correction to the estimates, not a fall in population.
Urban vs rural
- 1970 16.5%
- 1991 33.2%
- 2010 53.2%
- 2020 54.7%
- Malaysia, 2020 75.1%
Source: DOSM Census 2020 Key Findings, Sabah
At the 2020 census 54.7% of Sabah’s people (1,869,049) lived in urban areas and 45.3% in rural ones, against 75.1% urban for Malaysia. The urban share was 16.5% in 1970, 33.2% in 1991 and 53.2% in 2010 (DOSM).
Age structure
Sabah’s population is younger than Malaysia’s: 22.9% were under 15 and 6.5% were 65 or older in 2026, against 21.2% and 8.4% nationally (DOSM Current Population Estimates 2026, checked 7 October 2026). See Sabah demographics for age groups, households and the sex ratio.
Ringkasan: penduduk Sabah 2026
Jumlah penduduk Sabah pada 2026 dianggarkan kira-kira 3.77 juta orang, menjadikan Sabah negeri ketiga paling ramai penduduk di Malaysia (DOSM). Kira-kira 2.74 juta ialah warganegara dan 1.03 juta bukan warganegara. Banci 2020 mencatatkan 3,418,785 orang di 27 daerah, dengan 54.7% tinggal di kawasan bandar.
Daerah Kota Kinabalu mempunyai 500,421 penduduk pada Banci 2020, atau kira-kira 731,000 termasuk Penampang dan Putatan. Angka daerah di halaman ini diambil daripada Banci 2020. Dalam kalangan warganegara, kumpulan terbesar ialah Kadazan/Dusun (660,777 orang), diikuti Bajau (565,499 orang).
Frequently asked questions
Q What is the current population of Sabah?
Q Why do older sources say Sabah had 3.9 million people?
Q How many ethnic groups live in Sabah?
Q What is the largest district in Sabah by population?
Q How fast is Sabah’s population growing?
Q What percentage of Sabah’s population is urban?
Q What is the main religion in Sabah?
Sources & References 4 sources
Last verified: 7 October 2026
Government — DOSM
- DOSM: Key Findings, Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020 — Sabah (state edition) Table 2: census counts 1970–2020, citizenship, religion, urban share, growth rates; Table 3: population by district; Table 5: sub-ethnic groups.
- OpenDOSM: Population by state (population_state) Annual estimates 1970–2026 by state, citizenship and ethnicity. Sabah 2026: 3,767.0 thousand, of whom 1,030.0 thousand non-citizens.
- DOSM: Current Population Estimates, Malaysia, 2026 (30 July 2026) Sabah 11.0% of Malaysia’s population; growth 0.3% in 2025 and 2026; density 51 per km²; national under-15 share 21.2% and 65+ share 8.4%.
- DOSM: Current Population Estimates, Malaysia, 2025 (31 July 2025) Projection of 4.89 million for Sabah in 2060 (earlier figures in this release, such as 0.5% growth in 2025, were revised in the 2026 release).