Editing Sabah (section)

== Demography ==
{{main|Demographics of Sabah}}

=== Ethnicity and immigration ===
{{bar box
|width=250px
|barwidth=100px
|title=Ethnic groups in Sabah (2020)<ref name="OwnCloud::DOSM">{{cite web | url=https://cloud.stats.gov.my/index.php/s/BG11nZfaBh09RaX#pdfviewer | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418044258/https://cloud.stats.gov.my/index.php/s/BG11nZfaBh09RaX#pdfviewer | archive-date=18 April 2022 | title=OwnCloud::DOSM }}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Ethnic
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|Other [[Bumiputera (Malaysia)|Bumiputera]]|#CCCCFF|19.69}}
{{bar percent|[[Kadazan-Dusun]]|#AAF0D1|19.33}}
{{bar percent|[[Bajau people|Bajau]]|#89CFF0|16.54}}
{{bar percent|[[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese]]|#FEC499|7.28}}
{{bar percent|[[Malays (ethnic group)|Malay]]|#DD818A|8.99}}
{{bar percent|[[Murut people|Murut]]|#FF9A71|3.11}}
{{bar percent|Other local non-native|#969696|1.34}}
{{bar percent|Non-Malaysian citizen|#FFB7C5|23.71}}
}}

According to the 2020 Malaysian census, the population of Sabah stands at 3,418,785, making Sabah the third most populous state in Malaysia with the highest non-citizen population at 810,443.<ref name="OwnCloud::DOSM"/> However, as Malaysia is one of the [[population density|least densely populated countries]] in Asia, Sabah is particularly sparsely populated with most of the population concentrated in the coastal areas since towns and urban centres have massively expanded. People from Sabah are generally called Sabahans and identify themselves as such.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/05/10/sabahan-first-then-a-malaysian-you-can-take-me-out-of-sabah-but-you-cant-take-sabah-out-of-me/ |title=Sabahan first, then a Malaysian |author=Philip Golingai |work=The Star |date=10 May 2015 |access-date=2 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602052406/http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/05/10/sabahan-first-then-a-malaysian-you-can-take-me-out-of-sabah-but-you-cant-take-sabah-out-of-me/ |archive-date=2 June 2016 }}</ref> There are an estimated 42 ethnic groups with over 200 [[sub-ethnic groups]] with separate own languages, cultures and belief systems.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/sabah-lists-42-ethnic-groups-to-replace-lain-lain-race-column |title=Sabah lists 42 ethnic groups to replace 'lain-lain' race column |author=Julia Chan |newspaper=The Malay Mail |date=13 February 2015 |access-date=1 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601095050/http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/sabah-lists-42-ethnic-groups-to-replace-lain-lain-race-column |archive-date=1 June 2016 }}</ref> The three largest indigenous groups in Sabah are the [[Kadazan-Dusun]], [[Bajau people|Bajau]] and the [[Murut people|Murut]]. There are large [[Rungus|Rungus People]], [[Orang Sungai]], [[Bruneian Malays]], [[Lun Bawang|Lundayeh]], [[Suluk people|Suluk]] and other [[Bumiputera (Malaysia)|Bumiputera]] ethnic minorities,<ref name="indigenous culture">{{cite web |url=http://www.accu.or.jp/litdbase/pub/dlperson/97rw/97RW_04.pdf |title=Introduction to Integration of Indigenous Culture into Non-Formal Education Programmes in Sabah |author1=Patricia Regis |author2=Anne Lasimbang |author3=Rita Lasimbang |author4=J. W. King |work=Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Development, Partners of Community Organisations (PACOS), Kadazandusun Language Foundation and Summer Institute of Linguistics, Malaysia Branch, Sabah |publisher=Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (Japan) |access-date=28 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828100840/http://www.accu.or.jp/litdbase/pub/dlperson/97rw/97RW_04.pdf |archive-date=28 August 2016 }}</ref> while the [[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese]] makes up the main non-indigenous population.<ref name="sbh"/> High migration to the state was noticeable in the 1970s, when hundreds of thousands of [[Refugees of the Philippines|Filipino refugees]], mostly the [[Moro people|Moros]], began arriving due to the [[Moro conflict in the Philippines|Moro conflict in the county]]. There are also [[Indonesians in Malaysia|Indonesian]] labourers from Kalimantan, [[Sulawesi]] and [[Lesser Sunda Islands]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.giga-hamburg.de/sites/default/files/openaccess/suedostasienaktuell/2006_5/giga_soa_2006_5_frank.pdf|title=Project Mahathir: 'Extraordinary' Population Growth in Sabah (The History of Illegal Immigration to Sabah)|author=Sina Frank|work=Im Fokus|publisher=[[German Institute of Global and Area Studies]]|date=May 2006|access-date=6 November 2014|pages=72 and 73/2 and 3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106073701/http://www.giga-hamburg.de/sites/default/files/openaccess/suedostasienaktuell/2006_5/giga_soa_2006_5_frank.pdf |archive-date=6 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Alexander Horstmann|author2=Reed L. Wadley†|title=Centering the Margin: Agency and Narrative in Southeast Asian Borderlands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ny_9nvERZtUC&pg=PA149|year=2006|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-0-85745-439-3|page=149}}</ref> The arrival of uncontrollable illegal immigration have cause major impact on political, economic and socio-cultural problem particularly on local indigenous peoples. The arrival of these illegal immigrants and the slow economic growth have forced Sabahans to immigrate to Peninsular Malaysia or overseas to find better paying jobs and income opportunities.<ref name = "GDP"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsis.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/WP334.pdf |title=Sabah's Unrelenting Exclusionary and Inclusionary Politics  |publisher=S. Rajaratham School of International Studies Singapore |access-date=6 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/137636/sabah-s-brain-drain-serious-/|title=Sabah's brain drain 'serious' &#124; Daily Express Online – Sabah's Leading News Portal|website=Dailyexpress.com.my|date=11 July 2019 }}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{bar box
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|barwidth=100px
|title=Religion in Sabah (2020)<ref name="Census 2020">{{cite web |url=https://tableau.dosm.gov.my/t/mbls/views/1202/Negeri6?%3Adisplay_count=n&%3Aembed=y&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link&%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3AshowVizHome=n |title=Taburan Penduduk dan Ciri-ciri Asas Demografi |publisher=Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia |access-date=25 April 2020  }}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Religion
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Islam]]|Green|69.6}}
{{bar percent|[[Christianity]]|Blue|24.7}}
{{bar percent|[[Buddhism]]|Yellow|5.1}}
{{bar percent|[[Irreligion|No religion]]|Black|0.4}}
{{bar percent|Others|Gray|0.1}}
{{bar percent|[[Hinduism]]|Orange|0.1}}
}}

[[Islam]] is the predominant religion in Sabah, although its society remained [[secularism|secular]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Yew-Foong Hui|title=Encountering Islam: The Politics of Religious Identities in Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3PDwQB4tBG8C&pg=PA158|year=2013|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=978-981-4379-92-2|page=158}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/sabah-sarawak-leaders-urge-malaysians-to-reject-pass-syariah-law-bill|title=Sabah, Sarawak leaders urge Malaysians to reject PAS's Syariah law Bill|newspaper=The Straits Times|date=7 May 2017|access-date=19 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219063542/http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/sabah-sarawak-leaders-urge-malaysians-to-reject-pass-syariah-law-bill|archive-date=19 February 2018}}</ref> In the 2020 census, the percentage of Muslims was around 69.6%, while that of [[Christianity|Christians]] was 24.7% and that of [[Buddhism]] 5.1%.<ref name="Census 2020"/> In 1960, the population percentage of Muslims was only 37.9%, while the percentage of Christians was 16.6% and almost half of the population professed other religions, that is at 45.5%.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MuEgAQAAMAAJ&q=Report+on+the+Census+of+Population+Taken+on+10th+August,+1960+%221960+Christian%22 | title=Report on the Census of Population Taken on 10th August, 1960 | date=1962 | publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MuEgAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Number+Percentage+of+Total+Population+Religion+1921+*+1931+*+1951+1960+1921+*+1931+*+1951+1960+Christian+Muslim+Other+Religion+6,980+10,454+29,092+75,247+81,886+86,713+115,126+172,324+168,938+173,056+189,923+206,850+2.7+3.9+8.7+16.6%22 | title=Report on the Census of Population Taken on 10th August, 1960 | date=1962 | publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Carlo Caldarola|title=Religion and Societies: Asia and the Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnPu49bHNUkC|date=1982|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-082353-0}}</ref> The increase was mainly contributed through the uncontrolled high immigration rate and controversial mass conversions in recent decades.<ref name="controversial">{{cite web|url=http://web.usm.my/km/33(2)2015/km33022015_01.pdf|title=Patronage, Power and Prowess: Barisan Nasional's Equilibrium Dominance in East Malaysia|author=Faisal H. Hazis|work=Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia|publisher=Universiti Sains Malaysia|year=2015|access-date=19 June 2016|pages=15/24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619080534/http://web.usm.my/km/33(2)2015/km33022015_01.pdf |archive-date=19 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="Hui2013">{{cite book|author=Yew-Foong Hui|title=Encountering Islam: The Politics of Religious Identities in Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3PDwQB4tBG8C&pg=PA170|year=2013|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=978-981-4379-92-2|pages=169–170}}</ref>

The ''Colony of North Borneo Annual Report, 1960'', notes that major indigenous groups maintained pagan beliefs, while coastal areas were majority Muslim. Other religions mentioned were traditional Chinese beliefs and various Christian denominations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://seadelt.net/Asset/Source/Document_ID-417_No-01.pdf|title=Colony of North Borneo, Annual Report 1960|website=Seadelt.net|access-date=8 January 2022}}</ref> Many indigenous groups saw conversions to Christianity,<ref>{{cite journal | author=Suraya Sintang| pages=59, 65 |url=https://ejournal.um.edu.my/index.php/JUD/article/view/4088/1956|title =PENGANUTAN AGAMA ISLAM DAN KRISTIAN DI KALANGAN MASYARAKAT KADAZANDUSUN DI SABAH|publisher=Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya| year=2003|volume=18|issn=1394-3723|journal=Journal of Usuluddin}}</ref> in part due to cultural compatibility such as having no ban on pork.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/05/world/kota-kinabalu-journal-moslem-cause-celebre-a-good-christian-burial.html|title=Kota Kinabalu Journal; Moslem Cause Celebre: A Good Christian Burial|first=Barbara|last=Crossette|date=5 October 1987|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

Several other religions, such as [[Chinese folk religion]] as well as the Indian religions of [[Hinduism]] and [[Sikhism]], are also practised in the state.<ref>{{cite book|author=Yong Leng Lee|title=North Borneo (Sabah): A Study in Settlement Geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fJceAAAAMAAJ|year=1965|publisher=Eastern Universities Press}}</ref>

=== Languages ===
[[Malay language|Malay]] is the main language spoken in the state, although with a different [[Sabah Malay|creole]] from [[Sarawak Malay]] and Peninsular Malay.<ref>{{cite book|author=Asmah Haji Omar|title=Languages in the Malaysian Education System: Monolingual Strands in Multilingual Settings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iaQ0CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT53|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-36421-4|page=53}}</ref> The state has its own slang for Malay which originated either from indigenous words, [[Brunei Malay]], [[Sama–Bajaw languages|Bajau]], [[Suluk language|Suluk]] and [[Dusun language|Dusun]] languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5575/2/2.Chapter_1.pdf|title=The Sabah Malay Dialect: A Phonological Study of The Urban Dialect of Kota Kinabalu City|author=JKL Wong|publisher=University of Malaya|year=2012|access-date=25 June 2016|page=7/11}}</ref> The indigenous languages of Sabah can be divided into four language families of [[Dusunic languages|Dusunic]], [[Murutic languages|Murutic]], [[Paitanic languages|Paitanic]] and [[Sama–Bajaw languages|Sama–Bajau]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flyingdusun.com/004_Features/018_Languages.htm|title=Languages of Sabah|author=Herman Scholz|publisher=Flying Dusun|year=2003|access-date=25 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625045918/http://www.flyingdusun.com/004_Features/018_Languages.htm |archive-date=25 June 2016}}</ref> The indigenous languages however facing extinction due to widespread use of Malay language particularly in home as parents often see the indigenous language as inconvenient especially in job related. However, as awareness for the indigenous language becoming more obvious, more modern parents insist on passing down their mother tongue language.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dailyexpress.com.my/read.cfm?NewsID=2671|title=The KadazanDusun language dilemma|newspaper=Daily Express|date=1 October 2017|access-date=14 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314070418/http://dailyexpress.com.my/read.cfm?NewsID=2671|archive-date=14 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.borneotoday.net/native-tongues-in-decline-but-all-is-not-lost/|title=Native Tongues in Decline But All is Not Lost|newspaper=Borneo Today|date=20 June 2020|access-date=14 March 2022|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314070737/https://www.borneotoday.net/native-tongues-in-decline-but-all-is-not-lost/|archive-date=14 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thesundaily.my/local/danger-of-minority-languages-going-extinct-EN8935710|title=Danger of minority languages going extinct|last=Supramani|first=Shivani|newspaper=The Sun (Malaysia)|date=20 June 2020|access-date=14 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314071259/https://www.thesundaily.my/local/danger-of-minority-languages-going-extinct-EN8935710|archive-date=14 March 2022}}</ref> As the [[Hakka]] forms the majority of Chinese in Sabah, the [[Hakka dialect]] is the most commonly spoken [[Chinese dialect]] in the state apart from [[Cantonese]] and [[Hokkien]] dialects.<ref>{{cite book|author=Delai Zhang|title=The Hakkas of Sabah: A Survey of Their Impact on the Modernization of the Bornean Malaysian State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W3JwAAAAMAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Sabah Theological Seminary|isbn=978-983-40840-0-4}}</ref>

Following the change of the government after the 2018 general election, the new Sabah government has stated that there is no restriction on the usage of [[English language|English]] in the state, adding that even if the Education Ministry stated that it is unlawful for English be used in Sabah, the restrictions will not be allowed to be imposed in the state, and that the state government will undo the previous improper law since the restrictions will only cause more damage to their younger generations especially when they need to work in private firms or organisations that require English proficiency. The new state government also stated that they will look into the matters if there is a need for a change in the state law.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=127026|title=Cannot stop Sabah using English: CM|newspaper=Daily Express|date=11 September 2018|access-date=21 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921023831/http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=127026|archive-date=21 September 2018}}</ref>