Land and Resources

The terrain of Brunei consists of a narrow coastal plain and a hilly interior. There are extensive swamps, especially in the west and northeast. Most streams flow north to the coast, including the Belait River, the longest in the country. Brunei has a humid, tropical climate, with an average annual temperature of about 26.7°C (about 80°F). The annual rainfall is heavy and is concentrated in the monsoon season of November to March, but there is no dry season. Dense tropical rain forests cover much of the interior, occupying nearly half of the country's total area. Wildlife includes monkeys and diverse birds and reptiles. Petroleum and natural gas are the primary mineral resources.

Population and Education

About two-thirds of the population of Brunei is Malay. Minorities include Chinese, Indians, and various indigenous peoples, such as Dayaks, Ibans, and Belaits. The official language is Malay, but English is also used for official purposes. Islam is the state religion, and the majority of the people are Muslims. At the 1991 census, the population of Brunei was 260,863. The 1995 estimated population is 288,000. The capital and chief town is Bandar Seri Begawan (population, 1991, 45,867). The overall population density is about 50 persons per sq km (129 per sq mi). Brunei had an 8 percent annual rate of population increase in the late 1980s, reflecting a trend of immigration to the country.

Medical and educational services are relatively well developed and are largely financed by revenues from petroleum production. Education is free up to the highest level at local and overseas universities, with primary and secondary education provided in Malay, English, or Chinese. The University of Brunei Darussalam (1985), in Bandar Seri Begawan, has about 900 students.

Government

Brunei is governed under a constitution promulgated in 1959, as amended. Executive authority is held by the Council of Ministers, which is presided over by the sultan of Brunei, and by the chief minister (mentri besar), who is responsible to the sultan. The sultan has ruled by decree since 1962.

Economy

The economy of Brunei is overwhelmingly dependent on the production of petroleum and natural gas. Oil fields were first discovered at Seria in 1929, but production has now expanded to offshore fields. Crude-oil output in the early 1990s was about 63 million barrels a year. Of minor importance to the economy are production of rubber, pepper, and animal hides. Production of the chief food crop, rice, does not meet national needs. Local industries include cloth weaving and metalwork. Exploitation of the country's forest reserves is increasing. The country has about 2248 km (about 1348 mi) of roads and 19 km (12 mi) of railroad. The chief ports are Bandar Seri Begawan, Kuala Belait, and Muara.

Brunei's basic unit of currency is the Brunei dollar (1.58 Brunei dollars equal United States $1; 1994). The gross domestic product of more than $15,400 per capita in the early 1990s was among the world's highest. The sultan of Brunei is the world's wealthiest person.

History

In the early 16th century Brunei was a sultanate with nominal authority over the whole of Borneo and some parts of the Sulu Islands in the Philippines. It was first visited by Europeans in 1521, by the Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián del Cano. After this encounter, trade with Europeans, as well as piratical activities directed against them, developed quickly. The Spanish captured the capital in 1580 but were soon compelled to evacuate it. In 1645 a Spanish expedition failed to end Malay piracy in the region. Brunei was noted as a haven for pirates at the end of the 18th century. About 1849 the British, seeking to protect commerce between Singapore and northwest Borneo, started operations against the pirate fleets and destroyed them within five years. A few years earlier the sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddin II, had granted Sarawak to the British army officer James Brooke as a reward for aid in quelling a civil war. Brooke assumed the title of raja and gradually extended his territory at the sultan's expense (see Brooke, Sir James).