Brunei

Brunei Darussalam (officially called the State of Brunei, Sultanate of Brunei or simply Brunei) is a country in Southeast Asia. It is north of Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The country is rather landlocked by Malaysia. To the north is the South China Sea and the Philippines to the northeast.

Brunei Darussalam Negara Brunei Darussalam  (Malay)
Flag Emblem
Motto:  الدائمون المحسنون بالهدى‎ Ad-dāʾimūna al-muḥsinūna bi-l-hudā (Sentiasa membuat kebajikan dengan petunjuk Allah) Always in service with God's guidance
Anthem:  Allah Peliharakan Sultan ﷲ ڤليهاراکن سلطان‎ God Bless the Sultan
Show globe Show map of south-east Asia Location of  Brunei  (green) in the ASEAN  (dark grey)  —  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Bandar Seri Begawan 4°53.417′N 114°56.533′E
Official language	Malay[1]
Other languages and dialects[2][3]	Brunei Malay Tutong Kedayan Belait Hindi Tamil Korean Chinese (Hokkien, Hakka Chinese, Standard Chinese and Cantonese) Indigenous languages Murut Dusun Brunei Bisaya
Official scripts	Malay alphabet (Rumi) Jawi alphabet[4]
Ethnic groups (2023)[5]	67% Malays 15% Chinese 6.2% Indian 7.7% Indonesian 1.9% Korean 0.8% others
Religion (2023)[5]	Islam
Demonym(s)	Bruneian
Government	Unitary Islamic authoritarian parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy
• Sultan and Prime Minister	Hassanal Bolkiah
• Crown Prince and Senior Minister	Al-Muhtadee Billah
• State Mufti	Abdul Aziz Juned
Legislature	Legislative Council of Brunei[a]
Formation
• Ancient Brunei	510–1368
• Sultanate	1368–1888
• Protectorate established	17 September 1888
• Independence from United Kingdom	1 January 1984
• Admitted to the United Nations	21 September 1984
Area
• Total	5,765[9] km2 (2,226 sq mi) (164th)
• Water (%)	8.6
Population
• 2023 estimate	455,858[10] (175th)
• 2023 census	445,400
• Density	72.11/km2 (186.8/sq mi) (134th)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$60.547 billion[11] (135th)
• Per capita	$70,609[11] (8th)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$37.152 billion[11] (122nd)
• Per capita	$32,153[11] (21st)
HDI (2024)	0.830[12] very high · 47th
Currency	Bruneian pound (BNP£)
Time zone	UTC+8 (Brunei Standard Time)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+673[c]
ISO 3166 code	BN
Internet TLD	.bn[13]
^ Also 080 from East Malaysia.

The capital of Brunei is Bandar Seri Begawan. The country is small and has a small population. The leader of the country is the Sultan of Brunei. Due to the sale of his oil, he is one of the richest people in the world. The official religion in Brunei is Islam. There are also minorities of people who follow Buddhism or Animism. Brunei's official language and national language is Malay and English language. Brunei is one of the smallest Muslim countries in the world.

History

From the 14th to the 16th centuries Brunei Darussalam was the seat of a powerful sultanate extending over Sabah, Sarawak and the southern Philippines. Thus, the current Sultan represents one of the oldest continuously ruling dynasties in the world. By the 19th century, the Brunei Darussalam Empire had been whittled away by wars, piracy and the colonial expansion of European powers.

In 1847, the sultan ended a treaty with Great Britain and in 1888 Brunei Darussalam officially became a British protectorate. In 1906, the Residential System was established in Brunei Darussalam. A British Resident was nominated as a representative of the British government to advise the sultan in all matters except Malay customs, traditions and Islamic religion.

The 1959 Agreement established a written constitution which gave Brunei Darussalam internal self-government. In 1971, the agreement was amended and revised to assert full internal independence except defence and external affairs.

On June 5, 1966 His Highness Sultan Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien abdicated in favour of his son Pengiran Muda Mahkota Hassanal Bolkiah. On January 1, 1984 Brunei Darussalam resumed full independence and the Sultan took office as Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Home Affairs Minister, presiding over a cabinet of six. In October 1986, the cabinet was expanded to 11 members, with His Majesty relinquishing the portfolios of Finance and Home Affairs and taking over the Defence portfolio which his late father had held since 1984. In 1988 another reshuffle brought about the elevation of the deputy minister to a full minister and the creation of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources designed to boost the country's development.^[14]

In spite of the sizable non-Muslim population (about 1/3 of the population) and criticism by the international community, the Sultan still announced Brunei's adoption of Sharia law in 2013 to fully enforce on the Muslim majority and partially enforce on non-Muslims.^[15] It was expected to take full effect in 2016 after 3 phases, and had begun partial enforcement in its first phase in 2014. It is the first country in East and Southeast Asia to practice Sharia law.^[source?]

Divisions

Brunei is divided into four districts (daerahs)^[16] and 38 subdistricts (mukims).^[17]

No.	District	Capital	Population (2011 census)	Area (km2)
1.	Belait	Kuala Belait	60,744	2,724
2.	Brunei-Muara	Bandar Seri Begawan	279,924	571
3.	Temburong	Pekan Bangar	8,852	1,304
4.	Tutong	Pekan Tutong	43,852	1,166

The daerah of Temburong is physically separated from the rest of Brunei by the Malaysian state of Sarawak.

Over 90% of Brunei's total population lives in 15 of the 38 mukims.

Cities

Map of Brunei

Officially, there are no places in Brunei that have "city" status. Some of the important places are:

• Bandar Seri Begawan (Pop. ~181,500, Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Council)
• Kuala Belait (Pop. ~38,000, Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Council)
• Seria (Pop. ~35,400, Kuala Belait/Seria Municipal Council)
• Jerudong (Pop. ~30,000, Kuala Belait/Seria Municipal Council)
• Tutong (Pop. ~27,500, Tutong Municipal Council)
• Bangar - administrative centre of the Temburong district
• Muara Town - has the only deep sea port of Brunei
• Sukang
• Panaga

Revenue

Brunei gets most of its income by selling oil. In 2011 the IMF said that Brunei was one of two countries (the other being Libya) with no public debt.^[18]

Currency

Brunei uses the Brunei Ringgit to trade. However, the Singapore dollar can be used here as both currencies are of the same value.

Related pages

• Brunei at the Olympics
• Brunei national football team
• List of rivers of Brunei

Notes

1. There is a Legislative Council, which has no legislative power.^[6] As its role is only consultative it is not considered to be a legislature.^[7][8]