Brunei | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

Brunei Profile
History

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Map of Brunei

Facts & Figures

Brunei Darussalam

Sultan: Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (1967)

Land area: 2,035 sq mi (5,265 sq km); total area: 2,228 sq mi (5,765 sq km)

Population (2020 est.): 478,054 (growth rate: 1.45%); birth rate: 16.14/1000; infant mortality rate: 10.52/1000; life expectancy: 78.38; density per sq km: 72 (2012)

Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Bandar Seri Begawan, 241,000

Other large cities (2011): 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 65.8%, Chinese 10.2%, other 24% (2020 est.)

National Holiday: National Day, February 23

Religions: Muslim (official) 80.9%, Christian 7.1%, Buddhist 7.1%, other (includes indigenous beliefs) 5% (2016 est.)

Literacy rate: 97.2% (2018 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2020 est.): $27.23 billion; per capita $62,200. Real growth rate: 1.3%. Inflation: -0.2%. Unemployment: 6.9% (2017). Arable land: 0.8%. Agriculture: rice, vegetables, fruits; chickens, water buffalo, eggs. Labor force: 203,600; note: includes foreign workers and military personnel; temporary residents make up about 40% of labor force; agriculture 4.2%, industry 62.8%, services 33% (2008 est.). Industries: petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas, construction. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, timber. Exports: $7.83 billion (2019 est.): crude oil, natural gas, refined products. Major trading partners (exports): Japan 34%, Australia 12%, Singapore 10%, India 8%, Malaysia 8%, Thailand 7%, China 6%, South Korea 5% (2019). Imports: $6.81 billion (2019 est.): machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals. Major trading partners (imports): Singapore 18%, China 14%, Malaysia 12%, Nigeria 5%, United Arab Emirates 5%, United States 5% (2019).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 103,885 (2020); mobile cellular: 526,589 (2020). Broadcast Media: state-controlled Radio Television Brunei (RTB) operates 5 channels; 3 Malaysian TV stations are available; foreign TV broadcasts are available via satellite systems; RTB operates 5 radio networks and broadcasts on multiple frequencies; British Forces Broadcast Service (BFBS) provides radio broadcasts on 2 FM stations; some radio broadcast stations from Malaysia are available via repeaters (2022). Internet hosts: 49,403 (2011). Internet users: 415,609 (2020).

Transportation: Highways: total: 2,976 km (2014). Waterways: 209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m (2012). Ports and harbors: Lumut, Muara, Seria. Airports: 1 (2021 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

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.

Democratic Reforms Slowly Introduced

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.

In Oct. 2013, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced plans to impose sharia law on Muslims, who make up two-thirds of the country's 400,000 inhabitants. Death by stoning for adulterers and gay sex and the amputation of limbs for theft were two examples of punishments that could be meted out at the discretion of the country's judges. Non-Muslims would also be subjected to some of the laws. His decree was met with outrage by human-rights activists. The first phase of the law was put into place in May 2014. Two other phases will follow over two years.

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

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