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Brunei Country Guide

Explore Brunei in Asia

Brunei with the capital city Bandar Seri Begawan is located in Asia (Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia). It covers some 5,770 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Delaware) with 381,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Brunei

The terrain features flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east with hilly lowland in west. The average density of population is approximately 66 per km². The notable climate conditions in Brunei can be described as tropical with hot, humid, rainy. Potential natural disasters are typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are rare.

To reach someone in Brunei dial +673 prior to a number. There are 80,500 installed telephones. And there are 425,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".bn". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 240V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Brunei

Brunei Flag Icon

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; yellow is the color of royalty and symbolizes the sultanate; the white and black bands denote Brunei's chief ministers; the emblem includes five main components: a swallow-tailed flag, the royal umbrella representing the monarchy, the wings of four feathers symbolizing justice, tranquility, prosperity, and peace, the two upraised hands signifying the government's pledge to preserve and promote the welfare of the people, and the crescent moon denoting Islam, the state religion; the state motto "Always render service with God's guidance" appears in yellow Arabic script on the crescent; a ribbon below the crescent reads "Brunei, the Abode of Peace".


The Sultanate of Brunei's influence peaked 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. The same family has ruled Brunei for over six centuries. Brunei benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in Asia.

National administrative regions of Brunei



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Asia
Neighbours: Malaysia
Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan
Size5,770 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 2,227 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly smaller than Delaware
Population381,000
CurrencyName Dollar, Currency Code:BND
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).bn
Telephone Country Prefix+673
Mobile Phone Connections425,000
Landline Phone Connections80,500

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area5,765 (sq km)173

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population415,717 174
Population growth rate1.67 (%)70
Birth rate17.63 (births/1,000 population)106
Death rate3.43 (deaths/1,000 population)214
Net migration rate2.51 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)33
Maternal mortality rate24.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)134
Infant mortality rate10.81 (deaths/1,000 live births)139
Life expectancy at birth76.57 (years)76
Total fertility rate1.83 (children born/woman)151
Health expenditures2.80 (% of GDP)182
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.10 (%)119
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS200 157
HIV/AIDS - deaths200 102
Obesity - adult prevalence rate7.50 (%)141
Education expenditures3.30 (% of GDP)133

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)22,040,000,000 127
GDP - real growth rate1.30 (%)155
GDP - per capita (PPP)55,300 11
Labor force205,800 169
Unemployment rate2.60 (%)21
Taxes and other revenues48.10 (% of GDP)17
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)24.20 (% of GDP)1
Inflation rate (consumer prices)1.20 (%)17
Commercial bank prime lending rate5.50 (%)149
Stock of narrow money3,594,000,000 113
Stock of broad money11,620,000,000 102
Stock of domestic credit4,032,000,000 121
Industrial production growth rate-5.40 (%)164
Current account balance3,977,000,000 30
Exports12,750,000,000 83
Imports3,020,000,000 148

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production3,723,000,000 (kWh)126
Electricity - consumption3,391,000,000 (kWh)131
Electricity - installed generating capacity894,000 (kW)125
Electricity - from fossil fuels100.00 (% of total installed capacity)9
Crude oil - production166,000 (bbl/day)42
Crude oil - exports155,000 (bbl/day)34
Crude oil - proved reserves1,100,000,000 (bbl)41
Refined petroleum products - production14,720 (bbl/day)102
Refined petroleum products - consumption14,640 (bbl/day)145
Refined petroleum products - imports1,016 (bbl/day)194
Natural gas - production11,800,000,000 (cu m)41
Natural gas - consumption2,970,000,000 (cu m)73
Natural gas - exports8,830,000,000 (cu m)23
Natural gas - proved reserves390,800,000,000 (cu m)35
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy8,271,000 (Mt)107

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use79,800 151
Telephones - mobile cellular443,200 168
Internet hosts49,457 96
Internet users314,900 128

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports1 213
Roadways3,029 (km)166
Waterways209 (km)97
Merchant marine9 115

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures2.40 (% of GDP)59

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince