Map - North Kalimantan (North Kalimantan)

North Kalimantan (Kalimantan Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. North Kalimantan borders the Malaysian states of Sabah to the north and Sarawak to the west, and by the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan to the south. Tanjung Selor serves as the capital of the province, while Tarakan is the largest city and the financial centre.

Formed on 25 October 2012, North Kalimantan was separated from the province of East Kalimantan to reduce development disparity and Malaysia's influence over the territory. North Kalimantan covers 71,827.3 square kilometres and consists of four regencies and one city. It had a population of 524,656 at the 2010 Census and 701,784 at the 2020 Census, making it at that time the least populous province in Indonesia, although subsequently the creation of the new province of South Papua in 2022 has removed that position. The official estimate of population as at mid 2021 was 713,622.

In the Míng Shǐ (明史), the official history of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, for the year 1417, Kalimantan was recorded as a kingdom under vassalage to the Philippine Kingdom of then Hindu Sulu as Kalimantan was ruled by a Sulu monarch named Mahalatu Gelamading 麻哈剌吐葛 剌麻丁; Maharaja Klainbantangan) where his title, Klainbantangan, in Chinese rendering, was named after his territory Kalimantan.

North Kalimantan then became a territory of the Bulungan kingdom, which was founded by a group of coastal Kayan. Around 16th century, a Kayan princess called, Asung Luwan, married a visiting nobleman allegedly lost from Brunei, called Datuk Mencang. From this line a princely state was established, centred in Tanjung Selor, which had territory of Bulungan, Tana Tidung, Malinau, Nunukan, Tarakan, and some part of Sabah. Bulungan was a vassal of Berau, which in turn was a vassal of Kingdom of Kutai. During subsequent wars, the territory fell into the hands of Brunei and after agreements were made with the Sultanate of Sulu, the territory officially came under Sulu control. In 1777, the royal family converted to Islam, with the king Wira Amir changing his name to Aji Muhammad, and title to Sultan Amirul Mukminin. In 1853, The Dutch signed a Politiek Contract to impose their sovereignty over the Bulungan kingdom, Sulu did not able to respond as it was also in a war with Spain. Then in 1881, the British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBC) was formed, placing North Borneo (present-day Sabah) under British jurisdiction, and claim the region of Tawau. While under the Dutch control, the sultan was forced to hand over control of the remoter regions of the Bahau river, Pujungan river, and Apo Kayan. After long negotiation with the British, the Dutch finally recognised the British borders in 1915 which is basically the border between Sabah and North Kalimantan now. During World War 2, the Japanese occupying forces had an agreements with Bulungan in which they shared natural resources and in exchange the region largely escaped Romusha.