BACKGROUND A dynamic town with modern telecommunications facilities, Labuan has been declared a federal territory as well as an International Offshore Financial Centre.
Labuan comprises one main island and 6 smaller ones with a total area of 92 square kilometres and a population of 65,000.
HISTORY Labuan, together with Sabah and Sarawak, became independent by joining the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.
The town of Labuan was named Victoria after the British monarch. On 16th April 1984, Labuan was proclaimed a Federal Territory of Malaysia.
GETTING THERE Lying only 8 km off the west coast of Sabah, Labuan can be reached by air from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.
Besides the national carrier Malaysia Airlines, Royal Brunei also flies direct to Labuan from Bandar Seri Begawan.
Tourists can also take a high-speed ferry from Kota Kinabalu, Sarawak or Brunei to Labuan. The journey from Kota Kinabalu takes 2 hours while that from Brunei takes about 1 hour.
