Brunei

Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with its territory bifurcated by the Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei is the only sovereign state entirely on Borneo; the remainder of the island is divided between its multi-landmass neighbours of Malaysia and Indonesia. As of 2025, the country had a population of 466,330, being the least populated country in Asia of whom approximately 64,409 resided in the capital and largest city of Bandar Seri Begawan. Its official language is Malay, and Sunni Islam is the state religion of the country, although other religions are nominally tolerated. The government of Brunei is an absolute monarchy ruled by the Sultan, and it implements a fusion of English common law and jurisprudence inspired by Islam, including sharia. At the Sultanate of Brunei's peak during the reign of Sultan Bolkiah (1485–1528), the state is claimed to have had control over most of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the Sulu archipelago and the islands off the northwestern tip of Borneo. There are also claims to its historical control over Seludong, which scholars believe is either Mount Selurong, in Indonesia, or Serudong River in eastern Sabah. The maritime state of Brunei was visited by the surviving crew of the Magellan Expedition in 1521, and in 1578 it fought against Spain in the Castilian War. During the 19th century, the Bruneian Empire began to decline. The Sultanate ceded Kuching to James Brooke and installed him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and in 1906 was assigned a British resident as colonial manager. After the Japanese occupation during World War II, a new constitution was written in 1959. In 1962, a small armed rebellion against the monarchy, which was indirectly related to the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, was ended with British assistance and led to the ban of the pro-independence Brunei People's Party. The revolt also influenced the Sultan's decision not to join the Malaysian Federation while it was being formed. Britain's protectorate over Brunei ended on 1 January 1984, when Brunei became a fully sovereign state. Brunei has been led by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah since 1967. The country's unicameral legislature, the Legislative Council, is simply consultative and all its members are appointed by the Sultan. The country's wealth derives from its extensive petroleum and natural gas fields. Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s has transformed Brunei into an industrialised country, with its gross domestic product (GDP) increasing 56% between 1999 and 2008. Political stability is maintained by the House of Bolkiah by providing a welfare state for its citizens, with free or significant subsidies in regards to housing, healthcare and education. It ranks "very high" on the Human Development Index (HDI)—the second-highest among Southeast Asian states after Singapore, with which it maintains close relations including a Currency Interchangeability Agreement. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brunei is ranked seventh in the world by gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity. Brunei is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the East Asia Summit, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).