City assessment
How smart is Kota Kinabalu?
Kota Kinabalu scores 44.1% against the ISO 37120-series aligned smart city framework in 2026, ranked #325 of 386 by smart reach and #314 on the evidence alone, with every finding traceable to a public source.
Each criterion counts in full where the evidence shows it present, half where partial and nothing where absent, weighted by its category. 33 of 86 are not yet assessed and count as nothing until a finding is made either way. Last assessed 3 Sept 2026.
Smart reach rank
#325 / 386
Smart score
44.1%
Evidenced rank
#314 / 387
Criteria present
26 / 86
Evidence coverage
58.1%
Kota Kinabalu's smart city score by area
6 present · 3 partial · 1 absent · 5 not yet assessed
3 present · 1 partial · 0 absent · 8 not yet assessed
2 present · 5 partial · 2 absent · 4 not yet assessed
2 present · 4 partial · 1 absent · 4 not yet assessed
5 present · 3 partial · 0 absent · 5 not yet assessed
4 present · 3 partial · 1 absent
4 present · 5 partial · 1 absent · 4 not yet assessed
Where Kota Kinabalu is strong
- ▸Culture, Tourism & Recreation
- ▸Open Data & Transparency
- ▸Health & Digital Health
- ▸Digital Government Services
- ▸Public Transport & Real-Time Information
Where the evidence shows gaps
- ▸Air Quality & Monitoring · 1 absent, 2 partial
- ▸Green Space & Biodiversity · 1 absent, 1 partial
- ▸Innovation & Economic Development · 1 absent, 2 partial
- ▸Climate Adaptation & Heat · 1 absent, 1 partial
- ▸Water & Sanitation · 4 partial
Not yet assessed
33 of 86 criteria have no finding yet, either way. They count as nothing in the score until one is made, and they are not gaps.
- Active & Shared Mobility4 of 4
- Connectivity & ICT Infrastructure4 of 4
- Solid Waste & Circular Economy4 of 4
- Governance & Smart-City Operating Model3 of 4
- Smart Traffic & Electric Vehicles3 of 4
- Climate Action & Emissions2 of 3
- Energy & Smart Grid2 of 4
- Inclusion & Civic Participation2 of 3
- Public Safety & Emergency2 of 4
- Critical Infrastructure Resilience1 of 3
- Education & Digital Skills1 of 3
- Public Transport & Real-Time Information1 of 4
- Urban Data Platform & Digital Twin1 of 3
Evidence highlights
Open Data & Transparency · Official open data portal
Malaysia operates official open data portals, data.gov.my and open.dosm.gov.my, which provide access to machine-readable datasets for the country.
https://www.data.gov.myOpen Data & Transparency · High-value datasets published
Malaysia's national open data portals provide access to high-value datasets including electricity consumption, population statistics, vehicle registrations, and economic indicators.
https://www.data.gov.myOpen Data & Transparency · Programmatic API access
Malaysia's official open data portals, data.gov.my and open.dosm.gov.my, offer programmatic API access to their datasets, as indicated by 'API Docs' and statements targeting application developers.
https://www.data.gov.myDigital Government Services · Unified online services portal
Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) operates an e-Services portal that allows for transactions related to property rates/assessment, licenses, and compound payments.
https://eservices.dbkk.sabah.gov.my/About this assessment
Kota Kinabalu was assessed against the 86 criteria of the ISO 37120-series aligned smart city framework on 3 Sept 2026 by AI agents gathering evidence from official public sources. Each criterion is marked present, partial or absent, or left not yet assessed, and every finding links to where it was found. Cities are re-assessed in runs, not continuously: the latest finished on 24 Oct 2026.