Brunei

The Sultanate of Brunei is a small country on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by East Malaysia and the South China Sea.

From the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, the Sultanate of Brunei controlled virtually all of Borneo and the southern Philippines to Manila. European colonialism and conflict over the royal succession weakened the state. For a time, Brunei was a haven for pirates. In the late nineteenth century, Brunei became a British protectorate. The country declared its independence in 1984. Today, Brunei enjoys a high standard of living thanks to offshore deposits of oil and natural gas.

General Information

• Full name of country: Brunei Darussalam
• Region: East & Southeast Asia
• Nationality: Bruneian(s) (noun), Bruneian (adjective)
• Official language: Malay
• Population: 484,991 (2023 est.)
• Population growth: 1.43% (2023 est.)
• Currency (money): Bruneian dollar
• Land area: 5,265 sq km (2,033 sq miles)
• Water area: 500 sq km (193 sq miles)
• Time zone: UTC +8
• Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan
• Flag: The flag of Brunei is yellow and features two horizontal bands of white and black that run diagonally across from left to right. In the center of the flag is the coat of arms of Brunei, featured in red. The coat of arms features an Islamic crescent and a parasol and gloves, representing the country’s monarchy. It also features two inscriptions written in Arabic: “Always render service with God’s guidance” and "Brunei, Abode of peace.”
• Motto: “Always in Service with God’s Guidance”
• Independence: January 1, 1984 (from the UK)
• Government type: constitutional sultanate (locally known as Malay Islamic Monarchy)
• Suffrage: voting in village elections is universal for those eighteen years of age
• Legal system: based on a mixture of English common law and Islamic law; note - in 2019, sharia law penal codes were instituted and apply to Muslims and non-Muslims
• National anthem: "Allah Peliharakan Sultan" (God Bless His Majesty), by Pengiran Haji Mohamed Yusuf Bin Pengiran Abdul Rahim/Awang Haji Besar Bin Sagap
• National holiday: National Day, February 23 (1984)

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: Brunei has the smallest population of any nation in Southeast Asia. People are mainly clustered in cities along the coast, with an estimated 79.1 percent living in urban areas in 2023. The largest city is Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital, which was expanded to include the surrounding area in 2007. This capital was home to 266,682 residents in 2021. Other large cities include Kuala Belait, Seria, and Tutong.

An estimated 67.4 percent of the population is of Malay descent. The largest minority group is Chinese, accounting for about 9.6 percent of the population. All other ethnicities, including Indigenous groups, account for 23 percent of the population (2021 estimates).

The official language of Brunei is Malay (Bahasa Melayu). English is widely used, especially in business. Official documents are published in English as well as Malay. Various Chinese dialects are also spoken by many Bruneians.

The official religion is Islam; roughly 82.1 percent of Brunei's population is Muslim. Another 6.7 percent are Christian, 6.3 percent are Buddhist, and 4.9 percent follow other religions (2021 estimates).

Most people in the cities wear Western-style clothing. Muslim women, however, often wear a long skirt, long-sleeved blouse, and a tudong (or tudung), a scarf that covers the head and neck. In rural areas, both sexes often wear a loose shirt over a sarong (a long piece of cloth, wrapped into a skirt and tied at the waist).

Although there have been some improvements in the status of women in Brunei over the past two decades, women still do not have equal rights in such matters as inheritance, divorce, and child custody. However, more women are receiving university degrees and entering the work force in Brunei than ever before.

Indigenous People: Brunei has been inhabited since at least the seventh century, and it is mentioned in Chinese history as early as the ninth century. Much of Brunei's culture is based on ancient Malay civilization.

Indigenous groups include the Dayaks, Iban, Murut, Tutong, Kedayan, and Dusun. The Dayaks and Iban live in longhouses built on stilts in the rainforest. The Iban were also warriors, and they are still known for their distinctive ilang, a type of machete.

Education: Schooling in Brunei is free at all levels. Attendance is compulsory for children between the ages of five and seventeen. The literacy rate for people age fifteen and older was estimated at 97.6 percent— 98.3 percent among males and 96.9 percent among females—in 2021.

Islamic studies are part of the curriculum in Bruneian schools, which are classified by language of instruction (Malay, English, or Mandarin Chinese). The government offers free lodging and free transportation or an allowance to Brunei citizens who live more than 8 kilometers (5 miles) from a school.

The University of Brunei Darussalam was established in 1985. Many students also study abroad on government scholarships.

Health Care: Annual health expenditure was 2.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2020. The government pays for medical care, but there is a shortage of doctors and hospital beds in the country. The infant mortality rate in 2023 was an estimated 10.26 deaths per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy in Brunei was estimated at 78.61 years (76.26 years for males and 81.08 years for females) in 2023.

Food: Bruneian cuisine is influenced by many cultures, especially Malay. Dishes are often highly spiced. Common dishes include bak kut teh, a spicy consommé made from mutton spareribs; murtaba, or meat crepes; and beriani, chicken cooked with cinnamon, cashews, coconut milk, and curry and which is served with rice. Another popular dish is kurma, which consists of chicken cooked in coconut cream and spiced with cardamom, anise, cinnamon, chilies, garlic, and ginger.

Spicy satay (skewers of mutton, chicken or beef) is a favorite for both holiday and daily meals. Other holiday dishes may include ketupat or lontong, rice cakes in coconut or banana leaves; and rendan, a spicy dish of marinated beef.

Fish dishes include gulai daun singkong tumbuk or grilled fish with greens; malu abulthiyal, fish with curry and other spices; and Sri Lankan cutlets, made with tuna, potatoes, and spices.

Because Brunei is a Muslim country, alcohol consumption is banned in public, and no alcohol is sold in the country.

Arts & Entertainment: Traditional Bruneian songs and folk dances include the adai-adai, which began as a song sung by Iban fishermen. Today, the adai-adai is a dance as well, accompanied by percussion to simulate the fishermen's canoe paddles.

Another folk dance is the benari or joget baju putih, which is performed by six couples for such events as marriage celebrations or housewarmings. The alus jua dindang, "beautiful melody," is a song and dance which describes a Brunei Malay wedding ceremony.

The Kedayan aduk-aduk dance often celebrates the end of harvest or other festivals. A warrior dance, the aduk-aduk is accompanied by gongs, wooden drums, and other wooden instruments, and coconut shells. Traditional musical instruments include the rebana (similar to a tambourine), the dombak (a log drum whose ends are covered with animal skin), and the gambus dan biola (a stringed instrument).

Museums in Brunei include the Arts and Handicraft Centre, with examples of the traditional crafts of boat building, silversmithing, bronze tooling, cloth weaving, and basket and mat weaving. The Brunei Historical Centre display relics of Malay weaponry, wood carvings, and traditional musical instruments. The Brunei Museum exhibits Malay and Islamic art.

The most popular sport in Brunei is football (soccer). The national football team won the Malaysia Cup in 1999. Silat is a form of Malay martial arts. Brunei won three gold medals in silat at the 1999 SEA (South East Asia) Games. Other sports include sepaktakraw, which is played with a rattan ball, and gasing, played with polished giant tops. From 1998 to 2000, Brunei hosted the Baiduri World Grand Prix Badminton Finals.

Holidays: Many of Brunei's holidays are religious, and follow the Islamic lunar calendar. Chinese New Year is also widely celebrated in the country.

Secular holidays include National Day, celebrating Brunei's independence from British protection (February 23); Royal Brunei Armed Forces Day, commemorating the formation of the armed forces (May 31); Teachers' Day, recognizing the accomplishments of teachers (September 23); and Public Service Day, to encourage efficient and honest public service (September 29).

Environment and Geography

Topography: Brunei is a tiny country on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo, in the South China Sea. The rest of the island is occupied by Kalimantan, a province of Indonesia, and by Sabah and Sarawak, provinces of Malaysia.

Sarawak surrounds Brunei and cuts it in two at the Bay of Brunei, an inlet of the South China Sea 26 kilometers (16 miles) long and 19 kilometers (12 miles) wide. Brunei is close to important shipping lanes linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The country's flat coastal areas have been cleared for agriculture, residence, and commerce. The interior is dominated by dense rainforest. The ground is mostly sandstone, shale, and clay, rising to mountains in the east. The highest point is Bukit Pagon, 1,850 meters (6,070 feet) above sea level, in the extreme southeast tip of the country.

The Baram River is 402 kilometers (250 miles) long, rising in the Iran Mountains in northern Sarawak, flowing through Brunei and emptying into the sea at Baram Point, just to the west of the Brunei-Sarawak border. The Limbang River, 196 kilometers (122 miles) long, rises in northwest Borneo, flows through Brunei and empties into Brunei Bay. The Brunei River flows through the capital.

Tasek (Lake) Merimbun is the largest lake in the country and an important conservation and tourist area. The lake is part of the 7,800-hectare (19,274-acre) Tasek Merimbun Heritage Park, an ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) National Heritage Site. The park includes wetlands surrounding the lake, peat swamp forest and lowland rainforest.

Natural Resources: Brunei's two main natural resources are offshore oil and natural gas. The country also has a considerable amount of hardwood and rubber trees in the rainforest.

Brunei's environmental concerns are relatively few. Although the air is usually clear, smoke from seasonal forest fires in Indonesia causes some problems, especially among people with respiratory disease.

Plants & Animals: Brunei's biodiversity includes dozens of endemic species of plants, such as the Manggachapui tree, used for shipbuilding and other construction. The country also has dozens of endangered species, such as the Manggachapui and the Panau gracilis tree.

Many mangrove swamps line the coasts of Brunei. Rubber trees and many palms, including rattan palms, grow in the rainforests. Many tree species have edible parts or fruits, such as bamboo, banana, coconut, assam aur (related to the mangosteen), gnetum, and durian. The durian alone appears in twenty-seven species in Brunei, seven of which bear edible fruit. There are approximately hundreds of species of fern found in Brunei.

The seaweed agar-agar is used both as a culture medium in scientific experiments and as a gelling agent in foods such as ice cream. Trepang, a kind of sea cucumber also called sea-slug and bêche-de-mer, is valued in Chinese cooking.

The endangered orangutan is endemic to northern Borneo and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Other land animals found in Brunei include the arboreal tarsier, several species of fruit bats (called flying foxes), gibbons, languors, pig-tailed macaques, clouded leopards, sun bears, wild boars, Malay weasels, and giant squirrels.

Brunei's birds include raptors, the Argus pheasant, hornbills, barbets, terns, cuckoos, woodpeckers, and kingfishers. The rainforest is also home to crocodiles, monitor lizards, skinks, and geckos; snakes such as the paradise tree snakes, yellow-throated king cobras, pit vipers and pythons; and water, ground, and tree frogs.

Climate: There is little variation in Brunei's hot tropical climate. The average temperature ranges from around 24° to 32° Celsius (75° to 90° Fahrenheit). Humidity levels are always high.

Rainfall varies from 2,500 millimeters (100 inches) along the coast to 7,500 millimeters (295 inches) in the interior rainforest. Few natural hazards plague Brunei, although the rare typhoon, earthquake, or flood does occur.

Economy

Brunei is among Southeast Asia's wealthiest nations and largest producers of oil. The oil and natural gas industries have accounted for the majority of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) for decades. As a result, Brunei has a high per capita GDP, at $60,100 USD according to 2021 estimates. The government provides free medical care, education, and other benefits to Bruneians, and there is no personal income tax.

In 2021, the unemployment rate was estimated to be 7.65 percent. A large percentage of Brunei's work force consists of foreign workers; however, in 2014 the government of Brunei revoked more than 71,000 approved but unused foreign worker quotas and announced that it was planning to restrict the number of foreign workers in the work force by imposing levies on employers who hire them.

Industry: The oil and natural gas industries remain the dominant sector of Brunei's economy. However, the government has encouraged the development of diverse industries to counter the eventual depletion of fossil fuel deposits. Textile production has become an important export industry. Other notable sectors include construction and transportation.

Exports were valued at approximately $11.202 billion USD according to 2021 estimates, consisting mostly of refined petroleum, natural gas, crude petroleum, industrial hydrocarbons, and industrial alcohols. Major export partners include Singapore, China, Japan, Australia, and Malaysia.

Agriculture: Less than 1 percent of the land in Brunei is arable. Major crops include rice, vegetables, and fruits. Livestock includes cattle, water buffaloes, goats, and chickens. Most farmers are engaged in subsistence agriculture.

Tourism: The government of Brunei actively promotes tourism. The tourist industry grew steadily through much of the early twenty-first century, mainly due to increasing arrivals from China, Japan, and South Korea. However, like most nations, Brunei's tourism sector saw a steep decline in 2020 due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry began to recover by 2022.

Popular tourist attractions include the rainforest, the coastal areas, the national parks, museums, and Kampong Ayer, a residential quarter of homes built on stilts. Tasek Merimbun Heritage Park is another favorite site as ecotourism increases in popularity. Pula Tiga Marine National Park was the site of the first season of the television show Survivor.

Government

Brunei is a constitutional sultanate that is locally known as Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB), or Malay Islamic Monarchy. The sultan is head of state and head of government. He is chosen for life by the Council of Succession. The sultan's power has remained within the same dynasty for more than five centuries.

The sultan appoints, is advised by, and presides over the Cabinet of Ministers. The sultan also appoints the Council of Succession and the advisory Religious Council and Privy Council.

In 2004, the twenty-one member Legislative Council (LegCo) met for the first time in twenty years. The sultan appoints the council members. The LegCo met for two weeks again in March 2011. There is only one major political party, the National Development Party, and there are no national elections. In 2007 the Brunei National Solidarity Party and the People's Awareness Party were deregistered.

The country is divided into four administrative districts, each with a district council appointed by the sultan.

In 2014 Brunei became the first country in East Asia to adopt sharia law, drawing criticism from much of the international community. The system was established in parallel with pre-existing common law. The full sharia penal codes, in parallel with common law codes, went into effect for Muslims and non-Muslims in April 2019.

Interesting Facts

• Brunei's birds' nest soup is made from the saliva of the cliff-dwelling swift. The swift uses its saliva in building the nest.
• The Iban and Dusun peoples have been particularly helpful to scientists in identifying medicinal plants in the rainforest.
• According to legend, the country's name is derived from the phrase "Baru nah," or "there it is," allegedly uttered by the first Muslim ruler of Brunei when he first saw the island of Borneo.
• In 2016 Brunei ratified the Paris Agreement on global climate change.

Bibliography

"Brunei." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 1 Nov. 2023, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/brunei/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2023.

"Brunei Darussalam." The World Bank, data.worldbank.org/country/brunei-darussalam. Accessed 10 Nov. 2023.

"Human Development Insights." Human Development Reports, UNDP, hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks. Accessed 8 Nov. 2023.

"Statistic: Tourist Arrival Statistics." Tourism Development Department, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, Brunei Darussalam, www.tourism.gov.bn/SitePages/Statistic.aspx. Accessed 10 Nov. 2023.