Sarawak is situated on the island of Borneo, and is one of the two states that make up East Malaysia. Sarawak and Sabah are separated from West Malaysia (Peninsula Malaysia) by the South China Sea about 600 km away. With an area of 124,449.51 square km, Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia, making up some 37.5 per cent of the country's total area. The State is bounded on the north and northwest by the South China Sea, the northeast by Sabah and Brunei Darussalam, which forms a double enclave, and the south by Kalimantan, Indonesia. Sarawak can be classified into three terrain groups: the alluvial coastal plain, the mountainous interior and the central undulating belt. Sarawak's highest point is Gunung Murut (2,434 m). Malaysia's longest river, the Batang Rajang, glides through the State.

On the whole, Sarawak has an equatorial climate. The temperature is relatively uniform within the range of 23°C to 32°C throughout the year. During the months of March to September, the weather is generally dry and warm. Humidity is consistently high on the lowlands ranging from 85 per cent to 95 per cent per annum. The average rainfall per year is between 3,300 mm and 4,600 mm, depending on locality, and the wettest months are from November to February.

The Ibans and Chinese each make up a third of the population. The Malays are third in number followed by the Bidayuh, Melanau and Orang Ulu. The Ibans depend on fishing, hunting and farming for a living. The Malays are mostly farmers and fisher folk, and live in the coastal areas. The Bidayuhs were coastal settlers who had been driven inland by sea pirates. Considered the original settlers of Sarawak, the Melanaus are fisher folk. Many of these ethnic groups dwell along the great rivers. They live in longhouses, where the entire population of a village virtually live under one roof. They are very hospitable to travellers and many visitors stay overnight in a long house during their visit.

Archaeological finds at Santubong peninsula showed that the Chinese came to trade during the Tang, Sung, and Yuan dynasties from A.D. 618 to 1368. Little is known about its later history except that at some point Sarawak came under the suzerainty of the sultan of Brunei. Inhabited by Bidayuh tribesmen, Sarawak did not interest anyone very much until the rise of Singapore put a new market of trade in the area. In the 1820’s, some Brunei nobles moved to Kuching, planning to sell Sarawak’s gold and jungle produce to traders. Their policies soon provoked a rebellion.

There was also trouble between the Malay coastal settlers and the Land Dayaks (Bidayuh). Into this scenario stepped English adventurer James Brooke in 1839. Brooks had been with the East India Company’s army briefly. While visiting Singapore in his private yacht, he was asked to take a letter to the Brunei viceroy in Kuching. There he was persuaded by Rajah Muda Hassim, heir apparent to the Sultan of Brunei, to help quell the uprising. Brooke managed to persuade all sides into agreeing to a truce. As a token of gratitude he was given the title of governor and Rajah of Sarawak by the Brunei sultan.

Hence, in this strange fashion Sarawak came under the Brooke dynasty. His rule of  justice without favouritism augured well. His nephew Charles Brooke succeeded him and it was during Charles time that oil was found in Sarawak, rubber introduced as a cash crop and some of Kuching’s elegant old buildings came into being. Charles Brooke died in 1917 at the age of 86 and was succeeded by his eldest son Charles Vyner Brooke, whose rule was short-lived as the state was handed over to the British Crown in 1945. In 1963 Sarawak joined the Federated States of Malaysia.

Sarawak is presently divided into 11 administrative divisions - Kuching, Sri Aman, Sibu, Miri, Limbang, Sarikei, Kapit, Kota Samarahan, Bintulu, Mukah and Betong. Kuching is the seat of government for modern Sarawak and is home to some 458,300 people making it the highest populated city in Sarawak and the 7th highest populated city in Malaysia. Sarawak has a Chief Minister, which heads a Cabinet of Ministers. The Chief Minister is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Negeri (or Governor), from amongst members of the State's Legislative Council. Elections are held every five years. The present Chief Minister is YAB Pehin Sri Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud. Kuching is also where the Head of the State of Sarawak, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) His Excellency Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng resides.

The economic activity of Sarawak is mostly dominated by mining, agriculture and forestry sectors. Other sectors like manufacturing, wholesale, retail trading and construction also contributed to the State's income. The primary sectors (i.e., mining, agriculture, and forestry) make up about 40 per cent of the state's total real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), followed by the secondary sector (i.e., manufacturing and construction) with about slightly more than 30 per cent of total real GDP. Sarawak is blessed with an abundance of natural resources.

LNG and petroleum have provided the mainstay of the state's economy for decades. Sarawak is also one of the world's largest exporters of tropical hardwood timber. However, the state government has imposed strict log-production quotas over the recent years to ensure sustainable forestry management. Sarawak still, however, produces approximately 9 to 10 million cubic metres of logs annually. With such vast land expanse, Sarawak has large tracts of land suitable for commercial agricultural development. Approximately 32 per cent or about 4.0 million hectares of the state's total land area have been identified as suitable agricultural land.

Nevertheless, less than 9 per cent of this is planted with productive permanent crops, while the balance is still under shifting cultivation for hill paddy (rice) that is estimated at more than 1.6 million hectares. The main commercial crops are oil palm, which has been increasing steadily over the years as well as sago, and pepper. Since the 1980s, Sarawak has started to diversify and transform its economy into a more industrialised one. This endeavour has been seeing continuing success, with manufacturing and hi-tech industries now playing a significant role in shaping the economic expansion of the state.