// CITY_ASSESSMENT

How smart is Kota Kinabalu?

Kota Kinabalu scores 24.7% against the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework in 2026 — ranked #271 of 385 cities assessed, with every finding traceable to a public source.

Smart score

24.7%

Rank

#271 / 385

Criteria present

16 / 86

Evidence coverage

30.2%

Kota Kinabalu's smart city score by area

Data, Digital & Smart Foundation83%

5 present · 0 partial · 1 absent · 9 not assessed

Mobility & Transport100%

3 present · 0 partial · 0 absent · 9 not assessed

Environment, Energy & Climate75%

1 present · 1 partial · 0 absent · 11 not assessed

Infrastructure, Water & Waste36%

1 present · 3 partial · 3 absent · 4 not assessed

Health, Education, Safety & Inclusion80%

3 present · 2 partial · 0 absent · 8 not assessed

Economy, Innovation & Employment75%

2 present · 2 partial · 0 absent · 4 not assessed

Governance, Resilience & Operating Model67%

1 present · 2 partial · 0 absent · 11 not assessed

Where Kota Kinabalu is strong

  • Open Data & Transparency
  • Public Transport & Real-Time Information
  • Culture, Tourism & Recreation
  • Food Security & Urban Agriculture
  • Digital Government Services

Where the gaps are

  • Governance & Smart-City Operating Model
  • Climate Action & Emissions
  • Inclusion & Civic Participation
  • Public Safety & Emergency
  • Green Space & Biodiversity

Evidence highlights

Open Data & Transparency · Official open data portal

Malaysia has an official open data portal at data.gov.my, described as "Malaysia's official open data portal", and another from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (OpenDOSM) which includes a data catalogue and API documentation.

https://www.data.gov.my

Open Data & Transparency · High-value datasets published

Malaysia's open data portals provide high-value datasets including population data, electricity consumption, and water production data.

https://www.data.gov.my

Open Data & Transparency · Programmatic API access

Malaysia's official open data portal (data.gov.my) and the OpenDOSM portal both offer API documentation for programmatic access to datasets.

https://www.data.gov.my

Public Transport & Real-Time Information · Public transport network

Kota Kinabalu, as part of Sabah, has public transport services including various types of buses (stop-and-go, express, mini, shuttle, school, worker), taxis (regular, airport, limousine), rental cars, and a state railway service operating between Tenom and …

https://lpkpsabah.gov.my/

About this assessment

Kota Kinabalu was assessed against the 86 criteria of the UN ISO-aligned smart city framework on 2026-07-11 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, and every finding links to where it was found. Scores refresh continuously as cities publish new evidence.