Background: The Sultanate of Brunei's heyday occurred between the 15th and 17th centuries when its control extended over coastal areas of northwest Borneo and the southern Philippines. Brunei subsequently entered a period of decline brought on by internal strife over royal succession colonial expansion of European powers and piracy. In 1888 Brunei became a British protectorate; independence was achieved in 1984. Brunei benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in the less developed countries. The same family has ruled Brunei for over six centuries.

Geographic coordinates: 4 30 N 114 40 E

Map reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 5,770 km²
Water: 500 km²
Land: 5,270 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries
Total: 381 km
Border countries: (1) Malaysia 381 km

Coastline: 161 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM or to median line
Territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical; hot humid rainy

Terrain: flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland in west

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Bukit Pagon 1,850 m

Natural resources: petroleum natural gas timber

Land use
Arable land: 0.57%
Permanent crops: 0.76%
Other: 98.67% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: typhoons earthquakes and severe flooding are very rare

Geography
Note: close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by Malaysia; almost an enclave of Malaysia

Population: 350,898 (July 2002 est.)
Growth rate: 2.06% (2002 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Bruneian
Adjective: Bruneian

Ethnic groups: Malay 67% Chinese 15% indigenous 6% other 12%

Languages: Malay (official) English Chinese

Religions: Muslim (official) 67% Buddhist 13% Christian 10% indigenous beliefs and other 10%

Age structure
0-14 years: 30.2% (male 54,038; female 51,833)
15-64 years: 67% (male 125,051; female 110,257)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 4,609; female 5,110) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.06% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 20.06 births/1000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 3.38 deaths/1000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.91 migrant(s)/1000 population (2002 est.)

Environment
Current issues: seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia
International agreements party to: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 1.13 male/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male/female
Total population: 1.1 male/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 13.95 deaths/1000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.06 years
Female: 76.56 years (2002 est.)
Male: 71.68 years

Total fertility rate: 2.4 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Deaths: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 88.2%
Male: 92.6%
Female: 83.4% (1995 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Negara Brunei Darussalam
Conventional short form: Brunei

Government type: constitutional sultanate

Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan

Administrative divisions: 4 districts (daerah-daerah singular - daerah); Belait Brunei and Muara Temburong Tutong

Independence: 1 January 1984 (from UK)

National holiday: National Day 23 February (1984); note - 1 January 1984 was the date of independence from the UK 23 February 1984 was the date of independence from British protection

Constitution: 29 September 1959 (some provisions suspended under a State of Emergency since December 1962 others since independence on 1 January 1984)

Legal system: based on English common law; for Muslims Islamic Shari'a law supersedes civil law in a number of areas

Suffrage: none

Executive branch
Chief of state: Sultan and Prime Minister Sir HASSANAL Bolkiah (since 5 October 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister Sir HASSANAL Bolkiah (since 5 October 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
Cabinet: Council of Cabinet Ministers appointed and presided over by the monarch; deals with executive matters; note - there is also a Religious Council (members appointed by the monarch) that advises on religious matters, a Privy Council (members appointed by the monarch) that deals with constitutional matters, and the Council of Succession (members appointed by the monarch) that determines the succession to the throne if the need arises
Elections: none; the monarch is hereditary

Legislative branch
Elections: last held in March 1962
Note: in 1970 the Council was changed to an appointive body by decree of the monarch; an elected Legislative Council is being considered as part of constitutional reform, but elections are unlikely for several years

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (chief justice and judges are sworn in by the monarch for three-year terms)

Political parties and leaders: Brunei Solidarity National Party or PPKB in Malay [Haji Mohd HATTA bin Haji Zainal Abidin president]; the PPKB is the only legal political party in Brunei; it was registered in 1985 but became largely inactive after 1988 it was revived in 1995 and again in 1998; it has less than 200 registered party members; other parties include Brunei People's Party or PRB (banned in 1962) and Brunei National Democratic Party (registered in May 1965 deregistered by the Brunei Government in 1988)

International organization participation: APEC ARF ASEAN C CCC ESCAP G-77 IBRD ICAO ICRM IDB IFRCS IMF IMO Interpol IOC ISO (correspondent) ITU NAM OIC OPCW UN UNCTAD UPU WHO WIPO WMO WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador PUTEH ibni Mohammad Alam
In the us fax: [1] (202) 885-0560
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 237-1838
In the us chancery: 3,520 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Gene B. CHRISTY
From the us embassy: Third Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jalan Sultan, Bandar Seri Begawan
From the us mailing address: PSC 470 (BSB), FPO AP 96,507
From the us telephone: [673] (2) 229,670
From the us fax: [673] (2) 225,293

Flag description: yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top almost double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national emblem in red is superimposed at the center; the emblem includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands

Economy overview: This small wealthy economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship government regulation welfare measures and village tradition. Crude oil and natural gas production account for nearly half of GDP. Per capita GDP is far above most other Third World countries and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production. The government provides for all medical services and subsidizes rice and housing. Brunei's leaders are concerned that steadily increased integration in the world economy will undermine internal social cohesion although it became a more prominent player by serving as chairman for the 2000 APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum. Plans for the future include upgrading the labor force reducing unemployment strengthening the banking and tourist sectors and in general further widening the economic base beyond oil and gas.

Real gdp growth rate: 3% (2001 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2001 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5%
Industry: 45%
Services: 50% (2001 est.)

Agriculture products: rice vegetables fruits chickens water buffalo

Industries: petroleum petroleum refining liquefied natural gas construction

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1997 est.)

Labor force
Note: temporary residents make up 41% of labor force (1991) (1999 est.)
By occupation: government 48% production of oil natural gas services and construction 42% agriculture forestry and fishing 10% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 10% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $2.5 billion
Expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.35 billion (1997 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1% (1999 est.)

Exports: $3 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.)
Commodities: crude oil natural gas refined products
Partners: Japan 42% US 17% South Korea 14% Thailand 3% (1999)

Imports: $1.4 billion c.i.f. (2000 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment manufactured goods food chemicals
Partners: Singapore 34% UK 15% Malaysia 15% US 5% (1999)

Debt external: $0

Exchange rates: Bruneian dollars per US dollar - 1.8388 (January 2002) 1.8917 (2001) 1.7240 (2000) 1.6950 (1999) 1.6736 (1998) 1.4848 (1997); note - the Bruneian dollar is at par with the Singapore dollar

Electricity
Production: 2.22 billion kWh (2000)
Production by source fossil fuel: 100%
Production by source hydro: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (2000)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 2.065 billion kWh (2000)
Exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Imports: 0 kWh (2000)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 79,000 (1996)
Mobile cellular: 43,524 (1996)

Telephone system
General assessment: service throughout country is excellent; international service good to Europe, US, and East Asia
Domestic: every service available
International: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); digital submarine cable links to Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippines (2001)

Internet
Country code: .bn
Service providers isps: 2 (2000)
Users: 35,000 (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $343 million (FY98)
Percent of gdp: 5.1% (FY98)

Airports: 2 (2001)
With paved runways total: 1
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2002)

Heliports: 3 (2002)

Pipelines: crude oil 135 km; petroleum products 418 km; natural gas 920 km

Railways
Total: 13 km (private line)
Narrow gauge: 13 km 0.610-m gauge (2001 est.)

Waterways: 209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m

Merchant marine
Total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 348,476 GRT/340,635 DWT
Ships by type: liquefied gas 7
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: United Kingdom 7 (2002 est.)

Disputes international: 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

Illicit drugs: drug trafficking and illegally importing controlled substances are serious offenses in Brunei and carry a mandatory death penalty