Official Name: Sultanate of Brunei (BN)

Capital    : Bandar Seri Begawan - Darussalam

Important Cities: Kuala Belait, Seria, Muara, Bangar.

Area: 5,765 km2.

Population          : 462,000 (2021)[1].

Number of People per Km2: 47,7

Ethnicity: 45% Malay, 23% Chinese, 10% Keday, 5.5% Melanu.

Language: The official language is Malay. English, Chinese and various regional languages are also used.

Religion: The official religion is Islam. 75% of the population is Muslim. 15% Buddhist, 9% Christian. Sunni is Shafi'i.

Geography: Brunei, a Southeast Asian country, is located on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo and is bordered to the north by the South China Sea and to the east, west and south by the Malaysian federal state of Sarawak. The coast facing the South China Sea is about 200 kilometres long. The territory of Sarawak, which is part of Malaysia, divides the territory of Brunei into two parts. The eastern part is called Teburong and it is a small region. There are Teburong rivers in the eastern part and Belait, Tutong and Brunei rivers in the western part. 1% of the land is agricultural land, 1% is grassland and 78% is forest. Tropical climate prevails in the country. Coastal areas receive plenty of rain. The average annual temperature in the capital Bender Sri Begawan is 27.3 degrees.

Government: Brunei is ruled by a sultan with broad powers. The sultan is the head of state and government. The constitution provides for a Legislative Assembly of 21 members, 10 of whom are elected and 11 of whom are appointed by the sultan. After the general elections held in 1965, no elections were held in the country.

Brunei is a member of international organisations such as UN, OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries), APEC (Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation Council), Islamic Development Bank.

Administrative Division: It consists of 4 administrative regions.

History: Islam started to spread in Brunei from the beginning of the 15th century. The Muslim conversion of Awang Alang Betatar, the sultan of Brunei at the time, had a significant impact on this. This person visited the Muslim sultanate of Malacca, which was established in the Malayan peninsula at that time, and during this visit he converted to Islam. After becoming a Muslim, the sultan changed his name to Muhammad Iskander Shah. Muhammad Shah thus established a Muslim sultanate in Brunei. Towards the end of the 15th century, this sultanate expanded its territory and became a state that controlled a large part of the island of Borneo, Luzon in the Philippines and the Sulu archipelago. In 1565, the Spanish colonisers reached the Philippines and occupied some places held by Muslims. Spanish colonisers also organised attacks on Brunei. From the early 17th century onwards, the Dutch also began to squeeze Brunei from the south-west. Meanwhile, Dutch colonisers had started to establish colonies in the south of Borneo. In time, the Dutch completely dominated the East Indies. Following the Dutch, British colonisers settled in the region and the British East India Company started to take a close interest in Brunei. The increasing power of the British in the region led to the weakening of the Dutch. The British captured the northern island of Labuan in 1841. In the same year, the British intervened in an uprising against the sultan of Brunei and suppressed this uprising, and in return, they appointed a senior British officer named James Brooke as the governor of Sarawak. After this, the British expanded their dominance in the region and continuously narrowed the borders of Brunei. In 1847, the sultan of Brunei killed all the British advisors in his palace, which caused the British to intensify their attacks. In 1888 Brunei became a British protectorate. In 1906, the British governor in the region gained full authority over Brunei. This British rule continued until 1941. In 1941 Brunei was invaded by Japan and the Japanese occupation lasted until 1945. In 1945 it was recaptured by Australian troops and reunited with the British governor in Sarawak. In 1956 the Brunei People's Party was founded. In 1959, some changes were made to the British protectorate system. In 1961, the Brunei Unity Party was formed. These political organisations forced the British colonialists to make some constitutional changes and accept some things. In 1962 a legislative assembly was created, some of whose members were elected and with limited powers. On 8 December 1962, supporters of the Brunei People's Party led an uprising against the British protectorate of Sultan Omar Ali Seyfeddin III. However, this uprising was suppressed by British forces and the People's Party was dissolved. In 1965, elections were held for a new legislative assembly. In the elections, only 10 of the 21 members of the legislative assembly were elected by the people. The other 11 members were appointed by the Sultan. These elections, which were understood to be for show, did not satisfy the people. Sultan Omar III abdicated the throne to his son Muda Hasanal Bolkiah in 1967. Muda Hasanal Bolkiah made an agreement with the British in 1979 to end the British protectorate at the end of 1983. According to this agreement, Brunei declared its independence on 1 January 1984. Muda Hasanal Bolkiah was a person who got on well with the British. In fact, he did not want the British protectorate to be lifted, fearing that Malaysia or Indonesia might annex his country. He agreed to the lifting of the British protectorate only after these two states gave guarantees that they would not annex Brunei to their territory.

External Problems: Brunei remains concerned that Malaysia or Indonesia may annex the country, but these two countries apparently have no policy of threatening Brunei. Brunei endeavours to maintain a close liaison with Britain in case of annexation.

Internal Problems: The most important internal problem of the country is the imbalance in the sharing of national income and the excessive wasteful behaviour of the administration. The sultan of Brunei is known as the richest man in the world and a person who is fond of luxury. However, the sultan's behaviour does not lead to a social turmoil as the people seem to be satisfied with their situation.

Islamisation in the country: Brunei is a closed country. The Sultanate does not want to allow any opposition to form in the country. Therefore, when the Brunei People's Party, which was allowed to be established in the 1950s, started to criticise the government, the sultan immediately closed the party and either imprisoned or exiled its leaders. This policy of the Sultanate did not allow any organised work that could influence the administration in the country. However, it is noteworthy that a serious Islamic awakening started among the people and youth, especially with the influence of students studying abroad. In order to secure his throne and to avoid criticism on Islamic issues or to defend himself when he was criticised, the Sultan did not neglect to do some things that could be considered as Islamic. For this purpose, he built a very splendid mosque in the capital. He had an interest-free bank established for those who oppose interest-based practices to deposit their savings and cooperated with interest-free financial institutions established in the Gulf countries in this regard. However, it is not a remote possibility that all these practices will not satisfy the people in the future and the people will demand a real Islamic government.[2]

Economy: It is oil and natural gas that make Brunei rich and ensure a high per capita income. In 1992, it produced a total of 66 million barrels of oil and 8 billion 396 million m3 of natural gas. In 1993, oil reserves were estimated at 1 billion 130 million barrels and natural gas reserves at 371 billion m3 . The share of income from oil and natural gas in the gross domestic product is 47 per cent. Rubber, rice and various vegetables and fruits are mostly produced in the arable land. The share of income from agriculture in the gross domestic product is 2 per cent. Fishing is also widespread. In 1991, a total of 1700 tonnes of fish and seafood were caught, 93% from the sea and 7% from inland waters. 3.5% of the working population is engaged in agriculture and fisheries. Forest products and timber are also an important source of income in Brunei, where three quarters of the territory is covered with forests. In 1991, 295 m3 of logs were produced. Since the national income is high in Brunei, people are satisfied with their share. The person who receives the highest share of national income is the sultan. With a fortune of 25 billion dollars, the sultan of Brunei is one of the richest people in the world.

Currency: Brunei dollar.

National Income per Capita: $33,097 (2021)[3]

Foreign Trade: The main products it exports are oil, natural gas (the share of these two in exports: 97.5%), timber and forest products. The main imports are electrical and electronic equipment, transport vehicles and spare parts, machinery, foodstuffs and consumer durables. Japan ranks first in foreign trade. Taiwan comes in second place. Industry: Brunei has two large oil refining plants. There is also a large natural gas liquefaction plant in the city of Lumut, where 5 million tonnes of liquefied gas is obtained annually. Other industrial establishments consist of small workshops and workshops. Here, tools used in daily life are manufactured. The share of industry in gross domestic product is 9 per cent. Approximately 9.5% of the working population is employed in the industrial sector. .

Energy: All of the electrical energy is obtained from thermal power plants. The average annual electricity consumption per capita is 4705 kw/hour.

Transport: The country's only airport is the airport open to international traffic in the capital. There is also a harbour in the capital used for import and export. Brunei has 51 ships that can carry cargo over 100 groston, 20 km of railway, 2250 km of highway, half of which is asphalted. In this country, there is one motorised transport vehicle for an average of 2 people.

Education: Education is free. There are 165 primary schools, 20 general secondary education institutions, 6 vocational secondary education institutions and 2 higher education institutions. The proportion of young people of higher education age enrolled in higher education institutions is approximately 20 per cent. 9.5 per cent of those over 25 years of age have higher education. The rate of those who can read and write

86%.

[1]www.ticaret.gov.tr (Accessed September-2021)

[2]   Encyclopaedia of Islam, TDV.

[3]   ticaret.gov.tr (October-2021 Access)