Brunei

party to:

Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking Indian and Pacific Oceans;
• two parts physically separated by Malaysia;
• almost an enclave of Malaysia

0-14 years:

29.6% (male 54,118; female 51,902)

15-64 years:

67.6% (male 128,421; female 113,480)

65 years and over:

2.8% (male 4,804; female 5,373) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.13 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.89 male(s)/female

total population:

1.1 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Bruneian(s)

adjective:

Bruneian

conventional long form:

Negara Brunei Darussalam

conventional short form:

Brunei

chief of state:

Sultan and Prime Minister Sir HASSANAL Bolkiah (since 5 October 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

Sultan and Prime Minister Sir HASSANAL Bolkiah (since 5 October 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:

• Council of Cabinet Ministers appointed and presided over by the monarch;
• deals with executive matters;
• note - there is also a Religious Council (members appointed by the monarch) that advises on religious matters, a Privy Council (members appointed by the monarch) that deals with constitutional matters, and the Council of Succession (members appointed by the monarch) that determines the succession to the throne if the need arises

elections:

none; the monarch is hereditary

• Brunei Solidarity National Party or PPKB in Malay [Haji Mohd HATTA bin Haji Zainal Abidin, president];
• note - the PPKB is the only legal political party in Brunei;
• it was registered in 1985 but became largely inactive after 1988;
• it was revived in 1995 and again in 1998;
• it has less than 200 registered party members;
• other parties include Brunei People's Party or PRB (banned in 1962) and Brunei National Democratic Party (registered in May 1965, deregistered by the Brunei Government in 1988)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Anak Dato Haji PUTEH

FAX:

[1] (202) 885-0560

telephone:

[1] (202) 237-1838

chancery:

3520 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission:

Ambassador Gene B. CHRISTY

embassy:

Third Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jalan Sultan, Bandar Seri Begawan

mailing address:

PSC 470 (BSB), FPO AP 96507

telephone:

[673] (2) 229670

FAX:

[673] (2) 225293

• yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side;
• the national emblem in red is superimposed at the center;
• the emblem includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

service throughout the country is excellent; international service is good to East Asia, Europe, and the US

domestic:

every service available

international:

satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); digital submarine cable links to Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore (2001)

total:

13 km (private line)

narrow gauge:

13 km 0.610-m gauge (2001 est.)

total:

2,525 km

paved:

2,525 km

unpaved:

0 km (2000)

total:

8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 465,937 GRT/413,393 DWT

ships by type:

liquefied gas 8

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: UK 7 (2002 est.)

• Involved in dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam;
• Brunei established an exclusive economic fishing zone encompassing Louisa Reef in southern Spratly Islands in 1984 but makes no public territorial claim to the offshore reefs;
• claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea", a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding "code of conduct"