20 Fascinating Facts About Brunei

1. Brunei is a tiny country located on the island of Borneo in Asia. It is Asia’s fourth-smallest country after the Maldives, Singapore, and Bahrain.

2. Brunei is the second-richest country in Asia (after Singapore) when measured by GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP). It is the 11th richest country in the world.

3. Brunei has huge oil and gas reserves. Oil and gas exports account for over 90% of Brunei’s total exports.

4. Brunei has the largest oilfields in Southeast Asia, although they are expected to run dry within 30 years.

5. One of Brunei’s famous landmarks is the Billionth Barrel Monument, which commemorates the billionth barrel of oil produced at the Seria oilfield. The milestone was reached in 1991.

6. The country’s full name is Brunei Darussalam, which is Arabic for “Brunei, the abode of peace”.

7. According to Chinese and Arab records, the country of Brunei existed as early as the 7th or 8th century AD at the mouth of the Brunei River.

8. The Sultanate of Brunei once controlled large areas of northwest Borneo and the southern Philippines between the 15th and 17th centuries.

9. Brunei became a British protectorate in 1888. In 1963, it was the only Malay state that decided not to join the federation that would later become Malaysia.

10. Brunei gained complete independence from Britain in 1984.

11. Brunei is home to the largest stilt settlement in the world. Founded over 1,000 years ago, Kampong Ayer consists of 42 adjoining stilt villages which house around 30,000 people. The settlement has been nicknamed the ‘Venice of the East.

12. During the 19th century, the Sultan of Brunei requested Britain to help defend its coast against pirates. British army officer James Brooke was ennobled as Rajah of Sarawak in 1839 as a reward for helping.

13. In 2014, Brunei became the first East Asian country to adopt strict Islamic Sharia law. It allows punishments such as stoning for adultery and amputation for theft.

14. In 2019, the new penal code was fully implemented. The code designates death by stoning for adultery and gay sex in certain circumstances.

15. The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is one of the world’s few remaining absolute monarchs. Absolute monarchies are countries where monarchs (or dictators) still maintain complete power. The only other absolute monarchies are Eswatini, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Vatican City with Qatar and North Korea as de-facto absolute monarchies.

16. The Sultan is the world’s second-longest-reigning royal after Britain’s Queen Elizabeth of the UK. He has been in power since 1967.

17. The same royal family has ruled Brunei since the 14th century – for over 600 years – meaning the current Sultan also represents one of the world’s oldest continuously ruling dynasties.

18. Brunei’s flag was adopted in 1906 and has a yellow background that represented the sultan, with one black and one white diagonal stripe representing his two chief ministers. In 1959 the central red and yellow coat of arms was added which has a crescent for Islam, and a parasol which is a symbol of royalty in Brunei.

19. There are two inscriptions on the coat of arms in Arabic. “Always render service by the guidance of God” is on the crescent and “Brunei Darussalam”.

20. The sultan is the second-richest monarch in the world after the King of Thailand. He is believed to have a net worth of at least $20 billion (USD).

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