Brunei, officially State of Brunei, and formally Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with its territory bifurcated by the Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei is the only sovereign state entirely on Borneo; the remainder of the island is divided between its multi-landmass neighbours of Malaysia and Indonesia. As of 2023, the country had a population of 455,858, of whom approximately 150,000 resided in the capital and largest city of Bandar Seri Begawan. Its official language is Malay and Islam is the state religion of the country, although other religions are nominally tolerated. The government of Brunei is an absolute monarchy ruled by the Sultan of Brunei, and it implements a fusion of English common law and jurisprudence inspired by Islam, including sharia.
The tomb of a ruler of Boni in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Brunei (汶莱國) delegates in Beijing, China, in 1761. 萬國來朝圖
British adventurer James Brooke negotiating with the Sultan of Brunei, which led to the signing of the Treaty of Labuan, 1846
Ahmad Tajuddin, the 27th Sultan of Brunei, with members of his court in April 1941, eight months before the Japanese invaded Brunei
Borneo is the third-largest island in the world, with an area of 748,168 km2 (288,869 sq mi). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda Islands, located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra.
Rich marine life off the coast of Borneo, in the Sulu Sea
Lake Sentarum, Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan
The critically endangered Bornean orangutan, a great ape endemic to Borneo
NASA satellite image of Borneo on 19 May 2002