Map of Tawau, Malaysia

Tawau is a city in Sabah, Malaysia, with a population of about 372,615. It lies at 4.2448°N, 117.8911°E, about 0 m above sea level. Tawau is about 1,802 km (1,120 mi) east of Kuala Lumpur, the capital. The nearest city on our map is Semporna, 84 km to the east.

Tawau at a glance

Where is Tawau?

• The 17th largest city in Malaysia by recorded population.
• The 3rd largest city in Sabah on this site.
• Located in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres.
• Daylight ranges from about 11 h 53 min on the shortest day to 12 h 22 min on the longest day (around 21 December and 21 June).

Cities near Tawau

• Semporna — 84 km east
• Lahad Datu — 99 km northeast
• Tarakan — 109 km south, Indonesia
• Tanjung Selor — 167 km south, Indonesia
• Sandakan — 179 km north
• Keningau — 227 km northwest
• Putatan — 276 km northwest
• Kota Kinabalu — 279 km northwest
• Bandar Labuan — 314 km west
• Labuan — 315 km west

Largest cities in Sabah

• Kota Kinabalu — 500,421
• Sandakan — 439,050
• Lahad Datu — 105,622
• Putatan — 78,340
• Keningau — 77,650
• Semporna — 62,641
• Bandar Labuan — 54,752

Largest cities in Malaysia

• Kuala Lumpur — 1,453,975
• Johor Bahru — 858,118
• Kampung Baru Subang — 833,571
• Petaling Jaya — 807,879
• Ipoh — 759,952
• Shah Alam — 740,750
• Malacca — 579,000
• Kota Bharu — 568,900
• Kuantan — 548,014
• Sungai Petani — 544,851

Map of Malaysia and all its cities →

Sources: place names, coordinates, populations and time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0, data retrieved October 2026). Population figures are the latest values recorded in GeoNames; depending on the country they refer to the city proper, a municipality or a wider urban area, so they can differ from census or metro-area figures. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.