Editing Kuching (section)

==Demography==
The [[Adjectivals and demonyms for cities|term]] "Kuchingite" has been used to describe the people of Kuching, although it is not official.<ref name="LedesmaLewis2003"/> However, the simplest way to call the people of Kuching is only by "orang Kuching", which means "people of Kuching" in English.

===Ethnicity===
{{bar box
|title=Ethnic composition in Kuching (2023)<ref name=PBTSarawak/>
|titlebar=
|left1=Ethnic group
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Malay people|Malay]]|#B0BF1A|31.8}}
{{bar percent|[[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese]]|#CE2029|33.6}}
{{bar percent|[[Iban people|Iban]]|#FFAA1D|23.3}}
{{bar percent|[[Bidayuh]]|#A3C1AD|7.4}}
{{bar percent|Others|#856088|3.7}}
}}
In a recent survey by [[Department of Statistics Malaysia]] (DoSM) in 2023, the survey reported that [[Kuching]] had a total population of 613,522. This including overall population in both Kuching areas (North Kuching, South Kuching, and [[Padawan municipality|Padawan]]) consists primarily of [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malays]] (208,154), [[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese]] (219,882), [[Iban people|Iban]] (152,897), [[Bidayuh]] (48,635), non-Malaysian citizens (5,602), other Sarawak [[Bumiputera (Malaysia)|Bumiputras]] ([[Orang Ulu]]) (931), [[Melanau people|Melanau]] (6,870) and [[Malaysian Indian|Indian]] (10,879).<ref name=PBTSarawak>{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/download_Population/files/population/04Jadual_PBT_negeri/PBT_Sarawak.pdf |title=Population Distribution by Local Authority Areas and Mukims, 2022 |date=December 2021 |publisher=Statistics Department, Malaysia |access-date=19 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114152728/http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/download_Population/files/population/04Jadual_PBT_negeri/PBT_Sarawak.pdf |archive-date=14 November 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese]] are made up of [[Hoklo people|Hokkien]], mainly in the urban areas and in the suburbs.<ref>{{cite book |title=Southeast Asian Exports Since the 14th Century: Cloves, Pepper, Coffee, and Sugar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0q_r9aYSF_MC&pg=PA68 |access-date=19 July 2013 |date=1 January 1998 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian |isbn=978-981-3055-67-4 |pages=68–}}</ref> Other [[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese]] subgroups consist of [[Fuzhou people|Foochow]], [[Hainanese people|Hainanese]], [[Teochew people|Teochew]], [[Cantonese people|Cantonese]], [[Hakka people|Hakka]] and [[Putian people|Henghua]].

Many community from [[Iban people|Iban]], [[Bidayuh]], and [[Orang Ulu]] are mainly [[Christians]] (while some people still practising [[Animism]]). Meanwhile [[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese]] also practise either [[Buddhism]], [[Taoism]] or [[Christianity]]. Most of the Malays and Melanau are [[Muslim]] in [[Kuching District]]. There is also some community from [[Hindus]] and [[Sikhs]], although their population is really fewer.

There is a size-able population of non-citizens, who mostly come from the bordering [[Indonesia|Indonesian]] region of [[Kalimantan]], most of whom are migrant workers.<ref>{{cite book |author=Tim Huxley |title=Disintegrating Indonesia?: Implications for Regional Security |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zUfcAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 |date=13 September 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-04928-6 |pages=79–}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1309&dat=19861022&id=XNRHAAAAIBAJ&pg=3723,1524809 |title=Keeping tabs on illegal immigrants |newspaper=[[New Straits Times]] |date=22 August 1986 |access-date=5 June 2014 |pages=6}}</ref> Since the British period, a small population of [[South Asian ethnic groups|South Asians]]—notably, [[Pakistanis in Malaysia|Pakistanis]]—have lived in the city, their livelihoods primarily the selling of clothing and [[spices]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Judith M. Heimann |title=The Most Offending Soul Alive: Tom Harrisson and His Remarkable Life |url=https://archive.org/details/mostoffendingsou00judi |url-access=registration |year=1998 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-2199-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/mostoffendingsou00judi/page/270 270]–}}</ref> Other migrants who came during the British era included [[Bugis]] from the [[Dutch East Indies]], and other peoples from neighbouring Dutch Borneo.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2017/12/08/bugis-in-sarawak-also-malaysians-sba-chief/ |title=Bugis in Sarawak also Malaysians — SBA chief |author=Peter Sibon |newspaper=The Borneo Post |date=8 December 2017 |access-date=31 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231005627/http://www.theborneopost.com/2017/12/08/bugis-in-sarawak-also-malaysians-sba-chief/ |archive-date=31 December 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Being a diverse, "melting-pot" city, [[interracial marriages]] (among those of different ethnic backgrounds) are common in Kuching, and the city itself is home to over 30 distinct ethnic groups.<ref>{{cite book |author=Damian Harper |title=Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei. Ediz. Inglese |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9a02sRJKFhMC&pg=PA339 |access-date=19 July 2013 |year=2007 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-74059-708-1 |pages=339–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://investvine.com/seeing-tourism-through-the-eyes-of-sarawaks-big-village/ |title=Tourism through the eyes of Sarawak's 'big village' |author=Justin Calderon |publisher=Investvine |date=14 April 2013 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528235442/http://investvine.com/seeing-tourism-through-the-eyes-of-sarawaks-big-village/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Religious sites in Kuching">
File:St Joseph Cathedral Kuching.jpg|[[St. Joseph's Cathedral, Kuching|St. Joseph's Cathedral (Roman Catholic)]]
File:Tampak Luar St Thomas Cathedral (2).jpg|St. Thomas's Cathedral (Anglican)
File:Masjid Bandaraya Kuching.jpg|Kuching City Mosque
File:Hong San Si Temple 03.jpg|[[Hong San Si Temple]]
Sri Srinivasagar Kaliamman Temple 01.jpg|Sri Srinivasagar Kaliamman Temple
</gallery>

===Languages===
{{See also|Sarawak Malay}}
Besides being the capital city of Sarawak, Kuching is a business hub and cultural centre for the Malay populace.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.ukm.my/ppbl/Gema/pp.pdf |title=Social Variation Of Malay Language In Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia: A Study On Accent, Identity And Integration |author1=Idris Aman |author2=Rosniah Mustaffa |journal=GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies |year=2009 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=66 |publisher=Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities ([[National University of Malaysia]]) |issn=1675-8021 |access-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606204927/http://www.ukm.my/ppbl/Gema/pp.pdf |archive-date=6 June 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[dialect]] of Malay spoken in Kuching is known as ''Bahasa Sarawak'' ([[Sarawak Malay|Sarawakian Malay]] Language), a subset of the [[Malay language]].<ref name="Situmeang">{{cite book |author1=Paitoon M. Chaiyanara |author2=Sanggam Siahaan |author3=Hilman Pardede |author4=Selviana Napitupulu |author5=Basar Lolo Siahaan |author6=Siska Anggita Situmeang |title=SIJLL (Singapore International Journal of Language and Literature) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i0jEIG7piBcC&pg=PA149 |access-date=20 July 2013 |publisher=LLC Publishing |pages=149– |issn=2251-2829}}</ref> The local dialect in Kuching is different from that spoken or heard in [[Miri]].<ref name="Situmeang"/> Since the second-largest population in Kuching is made up of [[Han Chinese]], the [[Chinese language]] is also commonly spoken, particularly [[Hokkien]] and [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Richard L. Schwenk |title=The Potential for Rural Development in the New Seventh Division of Sarawak: A Preliminary Background Report |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40QZqUu3FzkC&pg=PA18 |access-date=20 July 2013 |year=1973 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian |pages=18– |id=GGKEY:NGE9XLE3DRH}}</ref> Almost all residents are able to speak English.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eturbonews.com/42532/kuching-easy-abc |title=Kuching is as easy as ABC |publisher=eTurbo News |date=7 February 2014 |access-date=7 June 2014 |author=Nelson Alcantara}}</ref> A number of speciality and private schools provide [[English language|English]] as a medium of instruction (primarily for wealthy and/or [[expatriate]] children), among other foreign language courses which can be found through the city.<ref>{{cite book |author=Heidi Munan |title=CultureShock! Borneo: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RTKJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA113 |date=15 October 2009 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd |isbn=978-981-4484-49-7 |pages=113–}}</ref>