fifteen interesting facts about brunei

1. Brunei occupies less than one percent of Borneo's land area, and is the only sovereign country on the island, which it shares with the Indonesian provinces of West, East, South, and Central Kalimantan, and the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.

2. Seventy eight percent of Brunei is untouched rainforest - a higher percentage than anywhere else in Asia.

3. Brunei is the smallest non-island country outside Europe. The Sultan owns a cattle station in Australia which is larger than Brunei itself. The six thousand square kilometre station in Willaroo, Northern Territory, supplies Brunei with beef and other meat products. The live cattle are brought direct from Darwin and slaughtered according to Halal practices.

4. It is illegal to practice homosexuality or to hold hands in public in Brunei.

5. Brunei is home to the world's largest population of proboscis monkeys (the world's largest monkey with an impossibly long nose, protruding belly, and thick orange hair). Ten thousand are still in the wild thanks to its rainforest habitat.

6. Brunei is sometimes mockingly dubbed the "Shellfare State" (in reference to the significant influence of the Shell Oil Company). Bruneians have free education, medical services, and there is no personal or corporation tax.

7. Brunei is divided into four districts, called daerah. These are: Belait, Brunei and Muara, Temburong, and Tutong.

8. About two-thirds of the Brunei population are of Malay origin. The most important ethnic minority group who dominate the nation's economy are the Chinese, with about fifteen percent. These groups also reflect the most important languages: Malay (Malay: Bahasa Melayu), which is the official language, and Chinese. English is also widely spoken and there is a relatively large expatriate community with large numbers of British and Australian citizens.

9. Until 1984 Brunei was a British protectorate.

10. Brunei is an absolute monarchy. The Sultan is the head of state and head of government. The Sultan is advised by several councils and a cabinet of ministers although he is effectively the supreme ruler.

11. The Sultan of Brunei was at one time the richest man in the world. His net worth is now estimated at around twenty billion US dollars.

12. For personal use, the Sultan possesses a Boeing 747-400 furnished with gold plated furniture, six smaller planes, and two helicopters.

13. Brunei is home to the largest residential palace in the world today. The Istana Nurul Iman contains one thousand seven hundred and eighty eight rooms, two hundred and fifty seven bathrooms, and a floor area of over two million square feet. Amenities include five swimming pools, an air conditioned stable for the Sultan's two hundred polo ponies, a one hundred and ten car garage, a banquet hall that can be expanded to accommodate up to five thousand guests, and a mosque accommodating one thousand five hundred people. The palace was built in 1984 at a cost of around four hundred million US dollars and has five hundred and sixty four chandeliers, fifty one thousand light bulbs, fourty four stairwells, and eighteen elevators.

14. The Sultan is famous for his vast car collection. According to Guinness World Records he has five hundred Rolls-Royces — the largest collection of that marque in the world. During the 1990s, his family accounted for almost half of all Rolls-Royce purchases. Also, among his collection are the Lamborghini Diablo Jota, Porsche 959, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, Maybach 62, Jaguar XJR-15 and six Dauer 962's. He is also the owner of six models of the Ferrari FX, the original red show model of the Bentley Continental R, two fully operational versions of the Ferrari Mythos concept car, both of the Ferrari 456 GT Sedans, the world's only right hand drive Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR, seven McLaren F1's including both black LM models and three Cizeta cars. He also possesses a Formula One car as driven by every Formula 1 World Drivers Champion since the 1980 Formula One season, particularly the ones driven in the last race for each season.

15. The Sultan's brother, Prince Jefri, has been accused of embezzling twenty billion US dollars from the Brunei Investment Authority. In February 2006 the Sultan's legal feud with him ended when he dropped all charges.

Full name: Sultanate of Brunei
Population: 374,000 (UN, 2005)
Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan
Area: 5,765 sq km (2,226 sq miles)
Major languages: Malay, English, Chinese
Major religions: Islam, Buddhism, Christianity
Life expectancy: 74 years (men), 79 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Bruneian dollar = 100 cents
Main exports: Crude oil, liquefied natural gas, petroleum products
GNI per capita: n/a Internet domain: .bn
International dialling code: +673