There are three public hospitals and one public health clinic in Kota Kinabalu. Queen Elizabeth General Hospital, located along Jalan Penampang is the largest public hospital in Sabah. Built in 1957, it is the most important healthcare centre in the city and one of only three general hospital in Sabah. Another hospital is the Hospital Pakar Likas (Likas Specialist Hospital).

Hospital Mesra Bukit Padang (Bukit Padang Mental Hospital) which opened in 1971, provides psychiatric services for the entire state. The health clinic, Klinik Kesihatan Luyang, is located about 6 kilometres from the city centre. There are a number of public dental clinics around the city, and also rural clinics in the outskirts.

Sabah Medical Centre in Damai is the largest private hospital in Sabah. Another private centre is the Damai Specialist Centre. There are many other private clinics operating around the city.

Courts Of Law And Legal Enforcement

The court complex is located along Jalan Pantai in the city centre. It contains the High Court, Sessions Court, and the Magistrate Court.

The Sabah Police Contingent Headquarters is located in Kepayan. There are two district headquarters in the city, the Kota Kinabalu District police headquarters is located in Karamunsing, and the Penampang District headquarters. Both also operate as police stations.

Other police stations are found in KKIA, Tanjung Aru, Putatan, and Menggatal. Police substations (Pondok Polis) are found in Luyang, Likas, Telipok, and Babagon. The city's traffic police headquarters is located along Lorong Dewan nearby Gaya Street, and the marine police is located nearby the city ferry terminal along Jalan Tun Razak.

Kota Kinabalu Central Prison is located in Kepayan. Temporary lock-ups or prison cells are found in most police stations around the city.

Education

There are many government or state schools in and around the city. Among the well-established and prestigious boarding schools in Sabah is Sekolah Menengah Sains Sabah which is located at Bukit Padang. KK's most notable secondary schools are Sekolah Menengah Taman Tun Fuad, Sekolah Menengah Likas, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perempuan Likas, Sekolah Menengah La Salle, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St. Francis Convent, Sekolah Menengah All Saints, Sekolah Menengah Saint Michael, Maktab Sabah, KK High School, Sekolah Menengah Lok Yuk and Sekolah Menengah Shan Tao.

There are also a number of independent private schools in the city. Among them are Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School, Kian Kok Middle School, Maktab Nasional and Seri Insan Secondary School. Classes usually begin at 7am and end at 1pm except for boarding schools, in which classes begins as early as 6.30 and end at 2pm. Children aged 7 are subjected to attend primary education which consists of six years learning while those aged 13 could pursue their study in lower secondary education for three years.

After completing their Lower Secondary Examination, students enter Upper Secondary education, where they will be streamed into either the Science stream or Arts stream based on their examination result. Students chosen to be enrolled at boarding schools will be placed into the science stream. Currently, there are four boarding schools in Sabah.

There is also an international school called Kinabalu International School (KIS) located in Bukit Padang. KIS is part of the Federation of British International Schools in South and East Asia (FOBISSEA). Another international school is the Kinabalu Japanese School, one of four Japanese schools or Nihonjin gakkos in Malaysia. It caters to children's of Japanese expatriates working and living around the city.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is the largest university in Sabah and was founded in 1994. Its main campus is located on a 999 acre piece of land, on a hill facing the South China Sea at Sepanggar Bay, about 10 kilometres north of the city centre. It also has a branch campus in Labuan. It is considered as one of the most beautiful universities in Malaysia.

The oldest University in Sabah is Universiti Teknologi MARA Sabah Campus which was co-founded by UiTM and Yayasan Sabah in 1973. The university has earned local and national reputation.

There is also a number of private colleges operating in the city which are Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, AlmaCrest International College, INTI College, Kinabalu Commercial College, and Informatics College. An established Public College Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman also available at Donggongon area. Many affluent residents send their children overseas to pursue either secondary or tertiary education.

Libraries

The Sabah State Library Headquarters is located off Jalan Penampang and is the largest library in the state. Other public libraries include Kota Kinabalu City (Regional) Library, Penampang Branch Library, and Menggatal Village Library. These libraries are operated by the Sabah State Library department. Other libraries or private libraries can be found in schools, colleges, or university campus.