Brunei

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

The geography of Brunei largely consists of flat terrain around the coastline, mountains in the east and some slight elevation in the West. The territory of Brunei is split into two by Malaysia and is only connected through a bridge. Malaysia is also the only state that borders Brunei by all sides with only the South China Sea to its north.   

Brunei, officially known as Brunei Darussalam, derives its name from the Arabic word for abode of peace. It is located on the southern part of the South China Sea on the island of Borneo which is held by Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. Since its existence, Brunei was a central trading hub within South East Asia and started to convert to Islam at the end of the 14th century. At the start of the 16th century, Brunei became an independent Sultanate until the end of the 19th century when it came under British influence. During the second world war, Brunei was occupied by the Japanese and regained its status as a British protectorate with the help of Australia. Only until 1984 Brunei became a fully independent state.   

 It is the 163rd largest state in the world with a surface area of 5800 square kilometers or 2200 square miles which makes it slightly larger than Trinidad and Tobago and slightly smaller than Cyprus.   

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Its total water surface is around 502 square kilometers or 191 square miles which ranks it as the 118th largest water holding state in the world.   

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

The supply of freshwater is almost fully provided by rivers. As a result of large investments into its water treatment plants, Brunei has been able to provide its citizens with fully potable water which is provided for free.   

Due to its location near the equator, Brunei experiences warm and wet weather all year around. It is only characterized by a dry season and a rainy season. With the rain season receiving three times the amount of rainfall compared to the dry season. The average temperature is around 26.7 degrees Celsius or 80 degrees Fahrenheit which ranks Brunei as the 25th warmest state in the world.   

Temperature

Temperatures on Brunei do not fluctuate heavily, and during the dry season it experiences an average temperature of 30.4 degrees Celsius or 86.7 degrees Fahrenheit   

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

During the colder period, it experiences an average temperature of 22.9 degrees Celsius or 73.2 degrees Fahrenheit.   

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Brunei is ranked as the sixth state with the highest rainfall in the world. On average, it experiences around 2.8 meters or 111 inch of rainfall per year which mostly takes place in the period from December to February. This is largely due to the fact that Brunei is located on an area where the air mass of the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere, collide with each other.   

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

The capital of Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan is home to around 100,000 people. Even though Brunei only borders Malaysia, the capital that is closest to Brunei is Manila in the Philippines with a distance of 1250 kilometers or 773 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Brunei is Bogota, Columbia with a distance of 18,500 kilometers or 11,500 miles.   

The economy of Brunei is characterized by being a mixed economy which provides the freedom of private enterprise which is regulated by central economic planning. More than 50 percent of its economy is based on petroleum exports. This means that economic growth is highly reliant on international prices. Its largest trading partners are China, Singapore and Japan which are responsible for 30 percent of its imports and 50 percent of its exports. In recent years, Brunei has tried to diversify its economy by investing in job opportunities in the services sector. The outcome of this investment is still unclear.   

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

In total, Brunei is a member of 11 international economic organizations which ranks it as the 119th most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

• Asian Development Bank 
• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 
• International Monetary Fund 
• Islamic Development Bank 
• World Bank Group 
• World Customs Organization 
• World Trade Organization 
• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 
• International Renewable Energy Agency 
• International Solar Alliance 
• Group of 77 

The GDP of Brunei is estimated to be around US$12.5 billion which ranks it as the 137th highest GDP in the world representing around 0.015 percent of total global GDP.   

The GDP of Brunei is estimated to be around US$12.5 billion which ranks it as the 137th highest GDP in the world representing around 0.015 percent of total global GDP.

The GDP per capita in Brunei is estimated to be around US$29,000 which ranks the Brunei citizens as the 34th highest in the world.   

The figure below displays the average amount that inhabitant of other states earn for every 1$ that an average Brunei citizen makes.

Its GDP per surface area is around US$2.1 million per square kilometer or US$5.5 million per square mile which ranks it as the 46th highest in terms of surface GDP.   

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

In terms of purchasing power, the citizens of Brunei are ranked as the seventh highest in the world with a purchasing power of US$68,000. 

The graph on the left displays the purchasing power parity of the rest of the world in relation to the purchasing power of 1$ in Brunei. 

Brunei has a total population size of 432,000 people which ranks it as the 107th most populous state in the world. It is estimated that around 60 percent of the population of Brunei is ethnically Malay, which is also the official language of Brunei. The second largest population within Brunei are the Chinese citizens which make up roughly 15 percent of the population, followed by the indigenous population and temporary workers from Europe and other parts of Asia.   

Population

Population density

Its population density is estimated to be around 192 people per square mile or 74 people per square kilometer which ranks it as the 106th most densely populated state in the world.   

Emigration

Around 55,000 people have emigrated from Brunei which corresponds to roughly 13.3 percent of the total population. The largest reasons are re-migration of workers to India and local migration to Malaysia.   

Immigration

Due to its economic prosperity, Brunei has attracted a high number of immigrants over the recent decades. At present, more than 100,000 people have immigrated to Brunei which represents around 25 percent of the total population. The immigrants mostly originate from states that are within the direct proximity of Brunei such as Malaysia and the Philippines.   

Literacy

The government of Brunei has made education compulsory between the ages of four and 16. Its educational system is divided up into an Islamic education system and a general education system. As a result of the compulsory education, Brunei is ranked as the 78th most literate state in the world with the literacy rate of 96.3 percent.   

Health

As a result of high oil revenues, the government of Brunei has invested heavily in healthcare. Healthcare is freely provided and is comparable to other states with high health standards. The average life expectancy in Brunei is around 76.4 years with women averaging around 77.6 years and men averaging around 75.2 years. This ranks Brunei as the 57th state in the world.   

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Being a Sultanate, Brunei has strict Islamic rules followed by most of its citizens. However, the government of Brunei provides freedom of religion to other large religions such as Buddhism and Christianity which ranks it as the 51st most multi religious state in the world.   

Christianity is practiced by around 9.7 percent of the total population of Brunei and is the second largest religion within Brunei. Even though Christians have the freedom of religion, there are some limitations by the government of Brunei which do not put it on equal footing with Islam. Some examples are the Prohibition of the teachings of Christianity, conversion to Christianity and the obligatory registration of Christian organizations. Some of these prohibitions can be sanctioned with imprisonment or even capital punishment.   

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Around 76.3 percent of the Brunei population adheres to Islam. It is also the official state religion since it became a Sultanate’s at the end of the 14th century. Most of these adherents of Islam follow the Sunni denomination. Due to this high percentage, Brunei is ranked as the 37th most Islamic state in the world.   

The share of Buddhists within Brunei is around 8.6 percent and is comparable to the share of Christians. Being slightly smaller, Buddhism is the third largest religion in Brunei. It arrived to Brunei around the sixth century CE when Brunei was a large trading hub for Chinese traders. After large emigration at the end of the 19th century, many Chinese emigrated to Brunei and became citizens of Brunei. These people represent the largest share of Buddhists in Brunei. 

Buddhism (share of the total population)

At present, around 0.2 percent, less than 10,000, of the population adheres to the Hindu faith. There are several temples throughout Brunei which are mainly of Indian origin. 

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

There are no official records of Jews within Brunei, but there are some Jewish traders residing in the capital. It is estimated that around 0.03 percent of the population adheres to the Jewish faith. 

Other religions (share of the total population)

Other religions mainly stem from indigenous religions and are mainly connected to the inland border with Malaysia. It is estimated that around 4.2 percent of the population of Brunei adheres to a non-mainstream religion.   

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Being nonreligious is being frowned upon within Malaysia. Therefore, many of its inhabitants adhere to a religion due to upbringing or due to convenience. It is estimated that around 0.27 percent of the population do not adhere to any religion.   

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Brunei spends around US$414 million or around 3.9 percent of its GDP on its military. This makes Brunei the 102nd largest military spender in the world.

After becoming fully independent, Brunei has set up a military which is officially known as the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. It consists of three branches, but is largely represented by its armed forces which is mainly supplied by the equipment that originates from Europe and the United States.   

Military membership

It is also a member of three international military organizations which ranks it as the 149th most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:  

• Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons  
• International Atomic Energy Agency  
• Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

In total, Brunei has fought two international wars. These are:  

• Castilian War 1578-1578  
• Brunei revolt 1961-1961

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Brunei is a member of 10 international political organizations which ranks it as the 132nd most politically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:  

• Member state of the United Nations 
• International Labour Organization 
• Asia Cooperation Dialogue 
• ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
• Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization 
• Commonwealth of Nations 
• International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property 
• Organization of Islamic Cooperation 
• Interpol 
• World Organization for Animal Health 

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Because Brunei is an absolute monarchy, this ranks it among the lowest democratic states in the world. Aside from its people being unable to elect their representatives, there have been reports of physical punishments for citizens that openly contest the monarchy. 

The politics of Brunei takes place in the form of an absolute monarchy where the Sultan has total control over Brunei. The political branch of Brunei is run by several ministers, but these are appointed by the Sultan and its council is also headed by the Sultan.   

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International wars

Military

Military membership

Military spending

Politics

Political Membership

Democracy/Dictatorship

Religion

Health

Literacy

Immigration

Population density

Population

Demographics

Relative GDP in PPP

GDP in PPP per capita

Relative earnings

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Surface GDP

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Economic organizations

Economics

Proximity

Rainfall

Temperature

Surface (water)

Share of water (%)