Johor Bahru
Country: Malaysia · 797,882 inhabitants · Founded: 1855
Attractions
Wikivoyage
Johor Bahru (Jawi: جوهر بهرو, Chinese: 新山) (also Johor Baru or Johore Baharu, or just JB) is Malaysia's second largest city, and the state capital of Johor. The city is surrounded by suburbs, industrial parks and long waterfront areas, in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Johor Bahru together with Iskandar Puteri and Pasir Gudang cities and Kukup, Kulai, Pekan Nanas and Senai towns form the megaregion Iskandar Malaysia.
Johor Bahru was the world's 35th most visited city by international tourists, according to Euromonitor International in 2019, as well as the second most visited city in the nation, after Kuala Lumpur.
Wikipedia
Johor Bahru (JB) is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and economy. Covering an area of 373.18 km2, Johor Bahru had a population of 858,118 people in 2020, making it the nation's largest state capital city by population. It is located at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the city-state of Singapore.
As a major financial and business centre in Malaysia, Johor Bahru is Malaysia's second best-performing city behind only Kuala Lumpur, in terms of economic competitiveness, prosperity, and ease of doing business, according to the World Bank. It has the fastest urbanisation growth and internet speed among Malaysian cities. As one of the most visited cities globally, Johor Bahru also has the world's busiest land border crossing, via the Johor-Singapore Causeway, KTM Intercity and the future RTS Link to Singapore. Johor Bahru is served by Senai International Airport and the world's 15th-busiest port, Tanjung Pelepas.
During the reign of Sultan Abu Bakar between 1886 and 1895, the city witnessed modernisation from a fishing village, with the construction of administrative centres, offices, schools, civic and religious buildings, and railways to Woodlands, Singapore. Japanese forces occupied Johor Bahru during the Pacific War. Johor Bahru thus became the post-war cradle of Malay nationalism, forming a major political party, UMNO at the Istana Besar in 1946. Granted city status in 1994, Johor Bahru is currently part of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and Iskandar Malaysia, the nation's largest special economic zone by investment value.