Kuantan is the state capital of Pahang, the largest state in Peninsular Malaysia. It is situated near the mouth of the Kuantan River and faces theSouth China Sea. The population of Kuantan is 57%Malay, 32% Chinese , 4%Indian and 7% other races. If one measures the distance along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it is located roughly halfway between Singapore and Kota Bharu. Kuantan's population is approximately 607,778 and it is the 9th largest city in Malaysia. According to the [World Gazetteer], a calculation indicates that the annual population growth of Kuantan is the greatest among the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which is 3.88 in general.
The Pahang state government shifted the administrative centre of Pahang from Kuala Lipis to Kuantan in 1955.
The National Physical Plan 2005 identified Kuantan as one of the future growth centres and a hub for trade, commerce, transportation and tourism. Kuantan is also considered as the social, economic and commercial hub for East Coast Peninsular Malaysia due to its strategic location. Rapid development since early 21st century has transformed and modernized Kuantan. Since 2005, Kuantan has had many development projects across the city, including Putra Square (work-in-progress, with the main building completed- shopping mall), Mahkota Square (completed),Bukit Gambang Water Resort (partial completion - the water park is complete, Kuantan Central and Kuantan Port City under the Kuantan District Locality Plan 2004v -2015. Recently, the introducing of Malaysia's first Special Economy Zone (SEZ) is located at Kuantan to boost the regional economy, tourism and growth. As an effort to catalyse the growth of Kuantan Metropolitan Precinct, government has located a petroleum manufacturing area in Pekan, a neighbour town of Kuantan and expected to allocate some funds to enhance the growth across the region.