page_title: Brunei
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Brunei / Demographics
caption_attribution_description: العربية: الغسق عند مسجد السُلطان عُمر علي سيفُ الدين في بروناي عشيَّة رمضان. English: Dusk at the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque in Brunei on the eve of Ramadan. Français&#160;: La mosquée Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin à Brunei, au crépuscule, juste après l'appel à la prière, la veille du Ramadan. Bahasa Melayu: Waktu senja di Masjid Omar Ali Saifuddien di Negara Brunei Darussalam pada malam 1 Ramadan.
context_page_description: Brunei, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, the country is completely surrounded by the insular Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo; the remainder of the island's territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei's population was 428,963 in 2018. The government is an absolute monarchy under the Sultan, which implements a combination of English common law and sharia law, as well as direct general Islamic practices.
  At the peak of the Bruneian Empire, Sultan Bolkiah is alleged to have had control over most regions of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the Sulu Archipelago off the northeast tip of Borneo, Seludong, and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The maritime state was visited by Spain's Magellan Expedition in 1521 and fought against Spain in the 1578 Castilian War.
  During the 19th century, the Bruneian Empire began to decline.
context_section_description: Ethnicities indigenous to Brunei include the Belait, Brunei Bisaya (not to be confused with the Bisaya/Visaya of the nearby Philippines), indigenous Bruneian Malay, Dusun, Kedayan, Lun Bawang, Murut and Tutong.
  The population of Brunei in 2018 was 428,963, of which 76% live in urban areas. The rate of urbanisation is estimated at 2.13% per year from 2010 to 2015. The average life expectancy is 77.7 years. In 2014, 65.7% of the population were Malay, 10.3% are Chinese, 3.4% are indigenous, with 20.6% smaller groups making up the rest.
  There is a relatively large expatriate community.
  Most expats come from non-Muslim countries such as Australia, United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, The Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and India.
caption: Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque at night.
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