Country Profiles: Brunei

Brunei is located in Asia. Brunei became a British protectorate in 1888; it didn't gain independence until 1984. The same family has ruled the country for over six hundred years. With an area of 5,765 sq km, it is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Delaware.

Brunei shares a border with Malaysia. It is mostly flat coastal plains that rises to mountains in the east, with hilly lowlands in the west.

People who live in Brunei are called Bruneians, which is also an adjective used to describe something from this country. As of July 2012, there are 408,786 people in Brunei. The ethnic groups that reside in Brunei are mostly Malay (66.3%), with some Chinese (11.2%) and indigenous populations (3.4%). Several languages are spoken there: Malay (official), English and Chinese. Muslims make up approximately 67% of the population, while Buddhists (13%) and Christians (10%) make up the rest.

The country's official name is Brunei Darussalam. The capital is Bandar Seri Begawan, and the country is made up of four districts. The constitution can be found here through Constitution Finder. The current sultan is Sir Hassanal Bolkiah. Information about the leaders of Brunei's government can be found here. The currency is the Bruneian Dollar(abbreviated BND), which stands at 1.2579 BND per USD as of 2011.

All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

Brunei Prime Minister Site

Brunei, CIA World Factbook

U.S. Relations with Brunei, U.S. Department of State

2011 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Brunei, U.S. Department of State.

You can also check out the Country Studies tab on our Fed Docs libguide here for more resources on all of the countries.

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Sonnet Ireland
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