Brunei
Fast facts
- Capital
- Bandar Seri Begawan
- Largest city
- Bandar Seri Begawan
- Languages
- Malay
- Currency
- Bruneian pound
- Time zone
- Brunei Standard Time
- Drives on
- left
- Calling code
- +673
Facts from Wikipedia’s “Brunei” page (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Brunei Darussalam (officially called the State of Brunei, Abode of Peace, or simply Brunei) is a country in Southeast Asia. It is located on the northern coast of the island of Borneo and is surrounded on its landward sides by Malaysia. To the north is the South China Sea.
The capital of Brunei is Bandar Seri Begawan. The country is small and has a small population. The leader of the country is the Sultan of Brunei. Due to the sale of his oil, he is one of the richest people in the world. The official religion in Brunei is Islam. There are also minorities of people who follow Buddhism or Animism. Brunei’s official language and national language is Malay and English language. Brunei is one of the smallest Muslim countries in the world.
History
From the 14th to the 16th centuries Brunei Darussalam was the seat of a powerful sultanate extending over Sabah, Sarawak and the southern Philippines. Thus, the current Sultan represents one of the oldest continuously ruling dynasties in the world. By the 19th century, the Brunei Darussalam Empire had been whittled away by wars, piracy and the colonial expansion of European powers.
In 1847, the sultan ended a treaty with Great Britain and in 1888 Brunei Darussalam officially became a British protectorate. In 1906, the Residential System was established in Brunei Darussalam. A British Resident was nominated as a representative of the British government to advise the sultan in all matters except Malay customs, traditions and Islamic religion.
The 1959 Agreement established a written constitution which gave Brunei Darussalam internal self-government. In 1971, the agreement was amended and revised to assert full internal independence except defence and external affairs.
On June 5, 1966 His Highness Sultan Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien abdicated in favour of his son Pengiran Muda Mahkota Hassanal Bolkiah. On January 1, 1984 Brunei Darussalam resumed full independence and the Sultan took office as Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Home Affairs Minister, presiding over a cabinet of six. In October 1986, the cabinet was expanded to 11 members, with His Majesty relinquishing the portfolios of Finance and Home Affairs and taking over the Defence portfolio which his late father had held since 1984. In 1988 another reshuffle brought about the elevation of the deputy minister to a full minister and the creation of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources designed to boost the country’s development.
In spite of the sizable non-Muslim population (about 1/3 of the population) and criticism by the international community, the Sultan still announced Brunei’s adoption of Sharia law in 2013 to fully enforce on the Muslim majority and partially enforce on non-Muslims. It was expected to take full effect in 2016 after 3 phases, and had begun partial enforcement in its first phase in 2014. It is the first country in East and Southeast Asia to practice Sharia law.
Divisions
Brunei is divided into four districts (daerahs) and 38 subdistricts (mukims).
The daerah of Temburong is physically separated from the rest of Brunei by the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
Over 90% of Brunei’s total population lives in 15 of the 38 mukims.
Cities
Officially, there are no places in Brunei that have “city” status. Some of the important places are:
- Bandar Seri Begawan (Pop. ~181,500, Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Council)
- Kuala Belait (Pop. ~38,000, Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Council)
- Seria (Pop. ~35,400, Kuala Belait/Seria Municipal Council)
- Jerudong (Pop. ~30,000, Kuala Belait/Seria Municipal Council)
- Tutong (Pop. ~27,500, Tutong Municipal Council)
- Bangar - administrative centre of the Temburong district
- Muara Town - has the only deep sea port of Brunei
- Sukang
- Panaga
Revenue
Brunei gets most of its income by selling oil. In 2011 the IMF said that Brunei was one of two countries (the other being Libya) with no public debt.
Currency
Brunei uses the Brunei Ringgit to trade. However, the Singapore dollar can be used here as both currencies are of the same value.
Written for younger readers
Brunei, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: Asia
Brunei is a country of independent Islamic sultanate on the northern coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It became a British protectorate in 1888, and in 1906 administration was vested in a British resident. Despite the presence of a foreign administration, Brunei’s significance began to revive with the start of petroleum production in 1929. In 1941–45, during World War II, Brunei was occupied by the Japanese. The British returned after the war, and negotiations began for the eventual independence of Brunei.
The Brunei capital city is Bandar Seri Begawan . The name Bandar means “city” in the Malay language, while Seri Begawan is a royal title held by the sultan of Brunei’s father. The Brunei currency are called Brunei dollar.
Brunei consists of a narrow coastal plain in the north of Borneo island. It shares its international boundary with Malaysia from all around other than northern side (which facing South China Sea).
During the national census of 2016, it is estimated at least 417,256 populations living in Brunei. Of these, the 65.7% of populations are Malay, 10.6% of population are Chinese and 23.7% are others minorities races/foreign expatriate .
The common language of the state of Brunei is Brunei Malay (Standard Malay). English is also widely used as a business and working language. It is also the language of instruction in secondary and tertiary education. Other languages spoken in Brunei include the Chinese, Indian and Native languages spoken by the minority ethnic groups.
The most common religion in Brunei are Muslim (78.8%) followed by Christian (8.7%) , Buddhist (7.8%) and other indigenous beliefs. (4.7%)
Main kikik, or kite flying, remains a popular sports in Brunei. Most of the main kikik occurs in an open field or at near the beach.
There are a few types of kikik play. One of them are the game’s aim is to fly their kites to extraordinary altitudes and to lead them through spectacular maneuvers, or to keep them airborne for as long as possible.
The other one is more involved competitive game play which in kikik battles; with the strings of their kites coated with ground glass, competitors strive to sever in midair the strings of their opponents’ kikik. The string that are successfully being cut is loser.
Royal Regalia Museum - It is a museum that houses the regalia of the Sultan and the royalty together with commemorations of the Silver and Golden Jubilee celebrations of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s rule. The building itself is a very impressive artistic architectural work, as it is a large golden dome building that is fitted with specially-designed mosaics.
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “Brunei” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
Both sources are published under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this page is published under the same licence. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the original and keep the same licence.
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