As one of the nation's most important economic powerhouses, Johor has the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in Malaysia outside of the Klang Valley, making it the country's second largest state economy, behind Selangor.

Situated at the southern foothills of the Tenasserim Hills, inselbergs and massifs dominate the state's flat landscape, with Mount Ledang being the highest point.

Another name, through Portuguese writer Manuel Godinho de Erédia, made reference to Marco Polo's sailing to Ujong Tanah (the end of the Malay Peninsula land) in 1292.

[27][29] Another important archaeological find was the ancient lost city of Kota Gelanggi, which was discovered by following trails described in an old Malay manuscript once owned by Stamford Raffles.

[41] After Aceh was left weakened, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) arrived and Johor formed an alliance with them to eliminate the Portuguese in the 1641 capture of Malacca.

[49] In 1818, the Dutch recognised Abdul Rahman Muazzam Shah as the legitimate heir to the Johor Empire in return for supporting their intention to establish a trading post in Riau.

[51] The following year, the British recognised Hussein Shah as the legitimate heir to the Johor Empire in return for supporting their intention to establish a trading post in Singapore.

[72] During the Japanese forces' arrival, Tokugawa accompanied General Tomoyuki Yamashita's troops and was warmly received by Ibrahim when they reached Johor Bahru at the end of January 1942.

[74] Following the occupation of all of Malaya and Singapore by the Japanese, Tokugawa proposed a reform plan by which the five kingdoms of Johor, Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah-Penang and Perlis would be restored and federated.

[69] Meanwhile, Ōtani Kōzui of the Nishi Hongan-ji sub-sect of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism suggested that the sultan system should be abolished and Japan should rule the Malay kingdoms under a Japanese constitutional monarchy government.

[77] The CPM supporters were mostly Chinese-educated members discriminated against by the English-educated elite and the Babas (Straits-born Chinese) during British rule whose main objective was to gain independence from foreign empires and to establish a socialist state based on Marxism–Leninism similar to the People's Republic of China.

In the five weeks before the British resumed control over Malaya following the Japanese surrender on 16 August 1945, the MPAJA emerged as the de facto authority in the Malayan territory.

[77] During the emergency period, large-scale attacks by the CPM occurred in the present-day Kulai District and other parts of Malaya, but failed to establish Mao Zedong-style "liberated areas".

[86] Despite growing opposition from the governments of Indonesia and the Philippines as well from Communist sympathisers and nationalists in Borneo, the federation was realised on 16 September 1963, with the sovereign state renamed Malaysia.

[95] Despite several attacks that also cost civilian lives, the Indonesian side did not reach their main objective, and the confrontation ended in 1966 following the internal political struggle in Indonesia resulting from the 30 September Movement.

The Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of Malaysia states that the Malaysian federal government is solely responsible for foreign policy and military forces in the country.

[126] In 1979 Government of Malaysia published the Malaysian Territorial Waters and Continental Shelf Boundaries Map which showed the island of Batu Puteh (present-day Pedra Branca) as under their jurisdiction, Singapore lodged a formal protest the following year.

[146] Much of central Johor is covered with dense forest, where an extensive network of rivers originating from mountains and hills in the area spreads to the west, east and south.

[168] In 2004, local authorities uncovered large-scale sandalwood (gaharu) poaching by foreigners in the Endau-Rompin National Park with a large number of protected plant species being confiscated from the suspects.

[169] The conversion of mangrove areas along the southern and eastern coasts for use in aquaculture projects, sand mining and rapid urbanisation in addition to the abnormal weather patterns caused by climate change and rising sea levels are contributing to the erosion of the state's coastline.

[191] As a prominent regional manufacturing hub, the state is home to major multinational corporations (MNCs) in Malaysia, like ByteDance, Nvidia, Microsoft, Micron, Saudi Aramco, Foxconn, among others.

[222] Following the recent change in the state government administration, the new government also pledged to provide better infrastructure for investors by improving the road network, providing an adequate water supply for factories and building sub-stations for electricity generation while rejecting foreign companies after discovering a foreign investor who claimed to use green technology to hide that he intended to use Johor as a waste disposal site.

Since British colonial times, there has been a road system linking Johor's capital in the southern Malay Peninsula to Kangar in the north and Kota Bharu on the east coast.

[251] The previous federal government had allocated RM29.43 billion as part of the Eleventh Malaysia Plan for infrastructure projects including upgrading roads and bridges.

[253] Rail transport in the state is operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu, which consists of Batu Anam, Bekok, Chamek, Genuang, Johor Bahru Sentral, Kempas Baru, Kluang, Kulai, Labis, Layang-Layang, Mengkibol, Paloh, Rengam, Senai and Tenang railway stations.

[301] In 2018, it was reported that Johor was among several Malaysian states facing a teacher shortage, so the federal education ministry set up a special committee to study ways to tackle the problem.

[324] Buginese and Javanese cultural influences are found in the bosara and kuda kepang dances introduced to Johor before the early 20th century by immigrants of respective communities.

Notable dishes include nasi lemak, asam pedas, Nasi Beringin, cathay laksa, cheese murtabak, Johor laksa, kway teow kia, mee bandung, mee rebus, Muar satay, pineapple pajeri, Pontian wonton noodle, san lou fried bee hoon, otak-otak, telur pindang,[332][333] and other mixed Malay dishes.

[334] Popular desserts include burasak,[334] kacang pool, lontong and snacks like banana cake, Kluang toasted buns and pisang goreng.

[333][335] International restaurants offering Western, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisines are found throughout the state, especially in Johor Bahru and Iskandar Puteri.