Brunei

**Brunei**, wey dem dey officially call **Brunei Darussalam**, be country wey dey Southeast Asia, e dey for de northern coast of Borneo island. Apart from ein coastline for de South China Sea, de whole country dey insyd de Malaysian state of Sarawak, den ein territory dem divide by de Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei be de only sovereign state wey dey entirely for Borneo; de rest of de island dey shared between Malaysia den Indonesia. As of 2023, Brunei ein population be 455,858, wey around 180,000 of dem dey de capital den biggest city, Bandar Seri Begawan. Dem dey speak Malay as official language, den Islam be de state religion, even tho dem dey allow oda religions small. De government be absolute monarchy under de Sultan, den e dey combine English common law plus Islamic jurisprudence, wey dey include sharia.

For de peak of de Bruneian Empire under Sultan Bolkiah (1485–1528), dem talk say Brunei control most of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak den Sabah, plus de Sulu archipelago den de islands wey dey de northwestern tip of Borneo. Some scholars talk say Brunei fit control Seludong, but some dey believe say e refer to Mount Selurong for Indonesia, anaa Serudong River for eastern Sabah. De Magellan Expedition ein surviving crew visit de maritime state of Brunei for 1521, den for 1578, Brunei fight Spain for de Castilian War.

For de 19th century insyd, de Bruneian Empire start decline. De Sultanate give Sarawak (Kuching) to James Brooke wey later turn de White Rajah, den e also ceded Sabah to de British North Borneo Chartered Company. By 1888, Brunei turn British protectorate, den for 1906, dem put British resident as colonial manager. After de Japanese occupation during World War II, dem write new constitution for 1959. For 1962, one small armed rebellion against de monarchy wey get connection plus de Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation happen, but de British help suppress am, den e make dem ban de pro-independent Brunei People's Party. De revolt also make de Sultan decide say Brunei no go join de Malaysian Federation. Brunei get full independence from British protectorate control on 1 January 1984.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah dey rule Brunei since 1967, den de country ein unicameral legislature, de Legislative Council, just be consultative, wey de Sultan appoint all de members. Brunei ein wealth mainly come from ein petroleum den natural gas reserves. Economic growth for de 1990s den 2000s make Brunei turn industrialized country, wey ein GDP grow by 56% between 1999 den 2008. De House of Bolkiah dey maintain political stability by providing welfare benefits like free or highly subsidized housing, healthcare, den education for ein citizens. Brunei rank "very high" for de Human Development Index (HDI), wey e be second-highest for Southeast Asia after Singapore. Brunei den Singapore get close ties, including de Currency Interchangeability Agreement. According to de International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brunei rank ninth for de world based on GDP per capita at purchasing power parity. Brunei be member of de United Nations, de World Trade Organization, de East Asia Summit, de Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, de Non-Aligned Movement, de Commonwealth of Nations, den ASEAN.

## References

## External links

**Government**
* Prime Minister's Office of Brunei Darussalam Archived 25 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine website
* Chief of State and Cabinet Members Archived 16 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine

**General information**
* Brunei. *The World Factbook*. Central Intelligence Agency.
* Brunei profile from the BBC News
* Brunei at *Encyclopædia Britannica*
* Key Development Forecasts for Brunei from International Futures

**Travel**
* Brunei Tourism website (archived 9 May 2007)