Demographics
2010 Census reports that Kuching urban population is 660,000 (Kuching City South – 150,000; Kuching City North – 170,000; Padawan- 3rd Mile/ 7th Mile/ 10th Mile – 340,000) and is consisted of Han Chinese (330,000), Malays (260,000), Ibans (70,000) and other ethnic groups. The Dayaks, the grouping of local indigenous tribes, can be categorized into Ibans, Bidayuhs, Melanaus and Orang Ulu, among others. The Chinese are made up of Fujianese (Hokkien) in the city areas and Hakka in the suburbs mainly. Other Chinese consist of Foochow (Fuzhou), Teochew, Hainanese, Cantonese, Henghua and others. Interracial marriages among those of different ethnic backgrounds are common in Kuching.
The main religions are Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam . The Chinese practice either Buddhism, Taoism or Christianity. Most Dayaks are Christian, with the exception of the Melanaus, who are partially Muslim.
The city is considered one of the cleanest cities in Malaysia and was voted as one of the world's healthiest cities, recognised and awarded by both United Nations (UN) and World Health Organisation (WHO) and by the Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC) in Suzhou, China.
The dialect of Malay spoken in Kuching is known as Bahasa Sarawak (Sarawakian Malay Language), which is a subset of the Malay language.
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