PROFILE

1. Location. 

• The original home of Brunei culture is the area around the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. Settlements of Barunay and Kadayan also are found along the coasts of northern Sarawak and southwestern Sabah in Malaysia; Tutong and Belait settlements are found exclusively in Brunei. Bisaya, Iban, and Penan people also live in Sarawak and Dusun and Murut people in both Sarawak and Sabah.

      

      2. Geography

• Brunei Darussalam is 2,226 square miles (5,763 square kilometers), with a coastline of about 100 miles (161 kilometers) on the South China Sea coast of northwestern Borneo and along the western shores of the southernmost portion of Brunei Bay. Brunei is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The climate is equatorial with high temperatures, high humidity, and heavy rainfall, although there is no distinct wet season. The country is divided into three contiguous administrative districts—Brunei-Muara, Tutong, and Belait—with a fourth, Temburong, separated by the Limbang Valley of Sarawak. The names of the districts derive from their main rivers.
• Approximately 75 percent of the country is forested, although the exportation of whole logs has been banned. The country is covered with a wide range of mangrove, heath, peat swamp, mixed dipterocarp, and montane forests. There are numerous rivers, whose broad valleys contain most of the country's settlements. The southern portion of Temburong is mountainous and sparsely populated.

      3. Demography

•  The number of people in Brunei Darussalam is estimated to be                 at 388,190 people in year 2009.The population of Brunei Darussalam keep on increasing every year with an average of 1.79% per year.With an area of 5769 square kilometer, the population density is estimated at 74 people per square kilometer.There are about 78% of the people live in the city area with the rest of 22% live in the rural areas.The Birth Rate is 18.2 per 1000 people.With a good living standard, the Death Rate of Brunei Darussalam is only 3.29 per 1000 people.The life expectancy of the people in Brunei Darussalam is 75 years old.TMeanwhile, the infant mortality rate is 12 babies per 1000 people.Literacy rate of the people in Brunei Darussalam is 94.9%.

Population Structure of Brunei Darussalam

• With the population of 388, 190 - 53% from the total population comprises 53% Male while the rest of 47% are female

• Brunei-Muara, where Bandar Seri Begawan the capital is located, is the most densely populated. Belait where Brunei Shell Petroleum headquarters and refinery is based has the second largest population. Tutong is a suburban town situated between Brunei-Muara and Belait districts. Temburong is a rural town in a forest reserve, which is accessible by boat from Bandar Seri Begawan.

• Majority of the ethnic in Brunei Darussalam is Malay, followed by Chinese and then the indigenous group and the other. The chart below shows the proportion of population among the ethnic in Brunei Darussalam.