Countries

Brunei

Map of Brunei
Map of Brunei

Brunei Darussalam

Sultan: Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (1967)

Land area: 2,035 sq mi (5,271 sq km); total area: 2,228 sq mi (5,770 sq km)

Population (2012 est.): 395,027 (growth rate: 1.7%); birth rate: 18/1000; infant mortality rate: 11.8/1000; life expectancy: 75.9; density per sq km: 72

Population (2012 est.): 408,786 (growth rate: 1.69%); birth rate: 17.74/1000; infant mortality rate: 11.15/1000; life expectancy: 76.37; density per sq km: 72

Capital and largest city (2009 est.): Bandar Seri Begawan, 78,000

Other large cities: Kuala Belait 27,800, Seria 23,400

Monetary unit: Brunei dollar

National Name: Negara Brunei Darussalam

Current government officials

Languages: Malay (official), English, Chinese

Ethnicity/race: Malay 67%, Chinese 15%, indigenous 6%, other 12%

National Holiday: National Day, February 23

Religions: Islam (official religion) 67%, Buddhist 13%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs and other 10%

Literacy rate: 92.7% (2011 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2011 est.): $21.11 billion billion; per capita $38,500. Real growth rate: –2.8%. Inflation: 2%. Unemployment: 2.7% (2011). Arable land: 1%. Agriculture: rice, vegetables, fruits; chickens, water buffalo, eggs. Labor force: 198,800; note: includes foreign workers and military personnel; temporary residents make up about 40% of labor force; agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.9%, production of oil, natural gas, services, and construction 61.1%, government 36% (2003 est.). Industries: petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas, construction. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, timber. Exports: $10.67 billion f.o.b. (2011 est.): crude oil, natural gas, refined products. Imports: $228.4 billion c.i.f. (2011 est.): machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals. Major trading partners: Japan, South Korea, Australia, U.S., Thailand, Indonesia, China, Singapore, Malaysia, UK (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 79,900 (2011); mobile cellular: 435,100 (2011). Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 10, shortwave 0 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997). Internet hosts: 49,403 (2011). Internet users: 314,900 (2011).

Transportation: Highways: total: 2,971 km (2011). Waterways: 209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m (2004). Ports and harbors: Lumut, Muara, Seria. Airports: 2 (2011 est.).

International disputes: in 2003 Brunei and Malaysia ceased gas and oil exploration in their disputed offshore and deepwater seabeds and negotiations have stalemated prompting consideration of international legal adjudication; Malaysia's land boundary with Brunei around Limbang is in dispute; Brunei established an exclusive economic fishing zone encompassing Louisa Reef in southern Spratly Islands in 1984 but makes no public territorial claim to the offshore reefs; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions in the Spratly Islands but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants.

Major sources and definitions

Flag of Brunei

Geography

About the size of Delaware, Brunei is an independent sultanate on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo in the South China Sea, wedged between the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.

Government

Constitutional sultanate.

History

Brunei was trading with China during the 6th century, and, through allegiance to the Javanese Majapahit kingdom (13th to 15th century), it came under Hindu influence. In the early 15th century, with the decline of the Majapahit kingdom and widespread conversion to Islam, Brunei became an independent sultanate. It was a powerful state from the 16th to the 19th century, ruling over the northern part of Borneo and adjacent island chains. But Brunei fell into decay and lost Sarawak in 1841, becoming a British protectorate in 1888 and a British dependency in 1905. Japan occupied Brunei during World War II; it was liberated by Australia in 1945.

The sultan regained control over internal affairs in 1959, but Britain retained responsibility for the state's defense and foreign affairs until 1984, when the sultanate became fully independent. Sultan Bolkiah was crowned in 1967 at the age of 22, succeeding his father, Sir Omar Ali Saifuddin, who had abdicated. During his reign, exploitation of the rich Seria oilfield had made the sultanate wealthy. Brunei has one of the highest per capita incomes in Asia, and the sultan is believed to be one of the richest men in the world. In Aug. 1998, Oxford-educated Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah was inaugurated as heir to the 500-year-old monarchy.

Sultan Bolkiah began taking cautious steps toward democratic reform in Sept. 2004, when he reinstated Parliament for the first time since Brunei gained independence in 1984. He was widely praised in May 2005 when he fired four members of his cabinet, including the education minister, whose plan to expand religious education angered many parents.

See also Encyclopedia: Brunei.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Brunei


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