Overview

The Basics

Brunei’s, whose full name is The Islamic Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam, borders the South China Sea and Malaysia and is located on the northwestern coast of the island of Borneo. It has a total landmass of 5,790 square kilometers. It is situated close to several vital sea-lanes that run through the South China Sea and link the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Known as “The Abode of Peace,” Brunei Darussalam often praised for its beautiful landscape. To the west of the country is gently rolling lowlands and a flat coastal plain gives ways to mountains in the east.

The country’s two physical parts are separated by a sliver of Malaysian territory. The majority of the population, over 95%, lives in the western part of the country with the remaining population living in the district of Temburong in the mountainous eastern part of the country.

Brunei’s capital is Bandar Seri Begawan and the country is divided into four administrative districts: Belait, Brunei and Muara, Temburong, Tutong. The country’s port is located in Muaa and oil is produced in the areas of Seria and Kuala Belait.

The climate is tropical.

Brunei\'s major natural resources are natural gas, petroleum, and timber. And it has an international airport that handles over one million passengers annually.

The official language of Brunei is Malay, but English and Chinese are also commonly spoken.

Currently over 370,000 people live in Brunei. 67% of the population is ethnically Malay, 15% is Chinese, 6% is indigenous islanders, and 12% of the population is labeled “other”. The official national religion is Islam and 67% of the population is Muslim. The other two major religious groups are Buddhist, making up 13% of the population, and Christian, making up 10% of the population.

During the 6th century Brunei traded with China and later through an allegiance to the Javanese Majapahit kingdom, it came under Hindu influence. The combination of the decline of the Majapahit kingdom and widespread conversion to Islam in the early 15th century contributed to Brunei becoming an independent sultanate. During the 16th century it rose to power and ruled over the northern part of Borneo as well as several adjacent island chains. Brunei remained a powerful state into the 19th century. However, Brunei lost its independence in 1888 when it became a British protectorate. Brunei was occupied by Japan during World War II until it was liberated by Australia in 1945. The Sultan, a member of the same family that has ruled Brunei for over six centuries, regained control over internal affairs in 1959. However, it wasn’t until 1984 that Britain relinquished control of the state’s defense and foreign affairs that the sultanate became fully independent.

Government and Economy

As a constitutional sultanate, Brunei’s leader acts as both the Sultan and Prime Minister. Since October 1967, the Sultan and Prime Minister has been Sir Hassnal Bolkiah. In August 1998, Prine Al-Muhtadee Billah was inaugurated as Bolkia’s heir.

The Sultan appoints and presides over a Council of Cabinet ministers.

Although there is a Supreme Court, whose chief justice and judges are appointed by the monarch for three-year terms, Islamic Shari’a law supersedes civil law in many areas. Civil law nevertheless is based upon English common-law. Only distinguished Commonwealth Judges acts as members of the Brunei Court of Appeal and by consent final appeals are sent to the Privy Council in London.

On 25 September 2004, the Legislative Council met for the first time in two decades. The 21 members of the council, all of whom had been appointed by the Sultan, passed constitution amendments that called for a 45-seat council, 15 members of which would be elected by the public

Brunei’s significant ties with the United Kingdom, Singapore, and regional countries have resulted in a sizable build-up of commercial activities. Moreover, for many years, Brunei has been a key player in the ASEAN region. Traditionally, its economy has been domination by the liquefied natural gas and oil industries – crude oil and natural gas production contribute nearly half of the annual GDP. Government expenditure patterns are also significant to the economy. Destined largely for Japan, Korea, and ASEAN countries, Brunei’s exports are largely commodities in the form of crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas.

In 2003 GDP at purchasing power parity was $6.842 billion and GDP per head at purchasing power parity was $23,600 similar to the EU’s GDP prior to enlargement. In that year unemployment was 3.2% as was growth.

Government revenues in 2003 were $4.9 billion and expenditures totaled $4.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.35 billion so the government operated on a surplus.

The Brunei Ministry of Finance announced that Brunei\'s economy grew by 1.7% in 2004. This increase was largely the result of a strong performance from the agricultural sector and consumption-led growth in the communications sector because of greater mobile telephone and Internet usage. In 2004 the oil and gas sectors shrank mainly because of the costs for the maintenance of and upgrading oil and gas production facilities.

Foreign Affairs

Brunei is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), East Asia Summit (EAS), Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and Austronesian countries and territories.

Austrian, German, Malaysian, Dutch, New Zealand, Sultanate of Oman, Singapore, South Korean, the United Kingdom and the UAE nationals are exempted from the requirement to obtain a visa for visits up to 30 days.

Nationals of Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Republic of Maldives, Norway, Peru, Poland, The Philippines, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and The Principality of Liechtenstein are exempted from the requirement to obtain a visa for visits of up to 14 days.

Australian and Qatar nationals are issued visa on arrival upon their arrivals at the Brunei International Airport only for visits up to 30 and 14 days respectively.

Visas are required for all other nationals entering Brunei Darussalam and may be obtained from any Brunei Darussalam diplomatic mission abroad.

Anyone entering Brunei Darussalam with the intention of taking up employment must arrange with their employers to obtain employment passes prior to their arrival. Their spouses and children under 18 years of age of pass holders must obtain dependents\' passes.

Every foreigner who plans on working in Brunei Darussalam must have a valid Employment Visa that is authorized by the Department of Immigration and National Registration and issued at the Brunei Embassy or High Commissioner.

An employment visa can be valid for up to 3 months and processing takes 7 working days and costs B$15.00.

Employers must obtain a quota license from the Labour Department as well as an approval letter from the work pass section of the Immigration and National Registration Department. Workers need a valid passport/travel document recognized by the Brunei Director of Immigration and National Registration. The passport ought to have a validity of 6 months before the worker enters the country.