Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third-largest island in the world. It is located in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra. The island is split by the equator, so its climate stays warm and wet all year.

Borneo has some of the oldest tropical rainforests on Earth. These rainforests are full of different plants and animals. The island has seven special ecoregions and is rich in biodiversity, with many species that live only there.

People have lived in Borneo for over 65,000 years. Today, the island is shared by three countries. The small nation of Brunei is in the north. Most of the island, about 73%, belongs to Indonesia and is called Kalimantan. The northern part is part of Malaysia, in the states of Sabah and Sarawak. Many people live in coastal cities. The island is known for its oil and gas, agriculture, timber, and tourism.

The name Borneo comes from different sources and cultures. An old Javanese book from 1365 called the island Nusa Tanjungnagara, meaning "island of the Tanjungpura Kingdom". When Portuguese explorers arrived in the 1500s, the people there called their island Pulu K'lemantang, which led to the name Kalimantan used in Indonesian today.

Internationally, the island is known as Borneo, a name that began with European contact with the Brunei kingdom in the 16th century. The name may come from an old Sanskrit word meaning "water" or referring to a Hindu god of rain. Chinese records from 977 also used the term Bo-ni to refer to the island.

Borneo is divided among three countries. The small country of Brunei controls a part of the island, including an area called Temburong. Indonesia manages several regions called provinces, such as East, South, West, North, and Central Kalimantan. Lastly, two states — Sabah and Sarawak — along with the area known as Labuan, belong to Malaysia.

Borneo's economy depends on several important areas. These include farming, logging, mining, oil and gas, and ecotourism. Brunei makes a lot of money from oil and gas. In Malaysia, the states of Sabah and Sarawak sell a lot of timber. Sabah is also famous for growing rubber, cacao, and vegetables, and for its fisheries. Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan also sell liquefied natural gas and petroleum. In Indonesia, the area called Kalimantan mainly gets money from mining, but they also work in logging and oil and gas.