Malaysia / Brunei / IndonesiaMalay ArchipelagoIsland
Borneo
748,168 km² rising to 4,095 m out of the Java Sea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
748,168km²
Area
7,237km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
4,095m
Highest point
Mount Kinabalu
18,590,000
People
30°C
Warmest sea
May
381km
To the mainland
When to go to Borneo
Best for the beach from January to April and in August.
The sea is warmest in May (30 °C) and coolest in February (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Third largest island in the world by area, located in south-east Asia
Borneo is an island in Malaysia. It belongs to Malay Archipelago. It covers 748,168 km², with 7,237 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Kinabalu, rises to 4,095 m. About 18,590,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 381 km away.
Getting there
- Syamsudin Noor International Airport (BDJ)main airport (23 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at KCH airport (Kuching)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 381 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to April and Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Borneo.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Borneo in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Borneo, each with its own numbers.
46beaches and covesCoastya
55lakesLakeyas
11waterfallsCascadyas
Largest lake
146km²
Lake Sentarum
according to Lakeyas
Deepest lake
500m
Mamut Mine
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
31.2°C
Danau Selatai
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
30.3°C
Pasir Rugon
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
46 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Likas Beach30.2°C
- Bak Bak Beach30.1°C
- Pasir Soniong30.2°C
- Pasir Sengki30.2°C
- Pasir Pandak30.2°C
- Pasir Rugon30.3°C
- Damai Beach30.2°C
- Pasir Pengirih30.3°C
38 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
55 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Sentarum146km²
- Lake Jempang124km²
- Danau Luar120km²
- Kenohan Semayang105km²
- Danau Raba93.4km²
- Danau Melintang88.0km²
- Lake Sembuluh86.0km²
- Riam Kanan Reservoir48.9km²
47 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
11 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Mahua Waterfall
- Bajuin Waterfall
- Inar Waterfall
- Siapat Twin Waterfall
- Takob Akob Falls
- Penimbungan Waterfall
- Perjiwa Waterfall
- Ba'Desai waterfall
3 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
1,000 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Samarinda865,306 people
- Pontianak686,019 people
- Banjarmasin657,663 people
- Kuching402,738 people
- Palangkaraya318,247 people
- Miri300,543 people
- Banjarbaru293,332 people
- Singkawang253,812 people
- Loa Janan212,816 people
- Sibu198,239 people
- Bontang194,606 people
- Sampit166,773 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 318 | 304 | 348 | 347 | 253 | 179 | 134 | 103 | 133 | 245 | 325 | 367 |
| Wet days | 26 | 23 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 21 | 27 | 28 |
| Sun h/day | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5.6 |
| Wind (km/h) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.3 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.5 |
| 2022 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 |
| 2023 | +0.5 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.0 |
| 2024 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q36117) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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