The town was called Fort Birch in the early colonial period. Its population was estimated to be around 54,400 in the year 2010. There are two famous villages are allocate here such as kg Chinta Mata, kg Baru Jumpa, kg Kuala Tomani.The principal ethnic groups are Murut (60%), followed by Chinese (20%), Malay (10%), Kadazan-Dusun (8%),and Lun Bawang/Lun Dayeh (2%). Most of the Chinese in Tenom are o
f Hakka descent. More specifically, most are descended from migrants who came from the county of Longchuan in Guangdong, China. Tenom, which is one of the oldest Chinese settlements in Sabah, with its rich and fertile land attracting many of the early Chinese migrants, specifically the Hakkas who, by tradition, were mainly agriculturalists. Today, the area is still primarily an agricultural zone, with soy beans, maize, vegetables and cacao being the major crops. Tenom is one of Sabah's more scenic interior locations, with the Crocker Range towering impressively immediately behind town. It is also known as the "gateway to Murut country". The annual festival of the Murut community known as Pesta Kalimaran is held in Tenom.
