population to 500,421, while the wider area including the Penampang and Putatan districts had a population of 731,406.

Historically, the Kadazandusuns called the area by the name of Dondoung. In the 15th century, the area of Kota Kinabalu was under the influence of Bruneian Empire. In the 19th century, the British North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC) first set up a settlement near the Gaya Island.