At 287,000 square miles, Borneo is the third largest island in the world. It is just larger than the US state of Texas (286,000 square miles) but with a population of around 19 million, has only 72% the population of Texas. Borneo is located in Island Southeast Asia, straddles the equator, and is home to one of the world’s largest tropical rainforests. The interior is mountainous, and dominated by large river systems which have had a significant impact on historical migrations, settlement patterns, and culture. The majority of the population lives along or near the coast, while the mountainous interior remains sparsely populated. It is the interior, however, where most of the linguistic diversity of Borneo is located. Three nations are found on the island; Brunei is the smallest, and is located in northern Borneo. It is also the only nation entirely located on the island. The two Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah are located on the side of Borneo facing the South China Sea to the west and the Sulu Sea to the north. The remainder of Borneo forms the Indonesian province of Kalimantan, which faces the Celebes Sea, Makassar Strait, and the Java Sea. Map 1 below shows the location of political boundaries in Borneo. Note the following translations of terms used in map 1: Kalimantan Utara–‘North