Country · Asia
Brunei
Nation of Brunei, Abode of Peace
Brunei is a country in South-Eastern Asia. About 429 000 people live there, in an area of 5 765 square kilometres. Its capital city is Bandar Seri Begawan.
Picture credit: Balou46 (CC BY-SA 3.0) · ZenZephyr17 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Amri HMS (CC BY 2.0) · sam garza (CC BY 2.0) · Yu Chu Chin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Brunei?
Brunei lies in South-Eastern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 501 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 161 km long.
It shares a border with 1 country: Malaysia.
How big is Brunei?
Brunei covers 5 765 square kilometres.
That is about 2.2 times the size of Luxembourg.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 163rd largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 74.4 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Brunei?
About 429 000 people live in Brunei.
That is the 168th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Malay.
They pay with the Brunei dollar and Singapore dollar.
On average, people born here can expect to live about 74 years.
The land of Brunei
The land of Brunei sits on average 478 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 161 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 8 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Brunei different?
A dish the country is known for: Ambuyat.
Websites from here often end in .bn.
Brunei and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Brunei.
It takes up less than a hundredth of one per cent of all the land in the world.
Within Asia the country ranks 43rd of 46 by size, and 46th by population.
Brunei and its neighbours
Malaysia, its only neighbour, is about 57.4 times bigger.
Malaysia has more people: 31.5 million against 429 000.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, one lives wild in Brunei: Proboscis monkey. The highest mountain in the country is Bukit Pagon, at 1 841 metres. The longest river in the country is the Belait. The largest lake in the country is Tasek Merimbun.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Brunei compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 1 626 times as big as Brunei: 9 372 610 km² against 5 765 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 42 times as big as Brunei: 242 900 km² against 5 765 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Brunei?
The capital of Brunei is Bandar Seri Begawan. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Brunei?
About 429 000 people live in Brunei, which makes it the 168th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Brunei?
Brunei borders Malaysia — 1 neighbour in total.
How big is Brunei?
Brunei covers 5 765 square kilometres, making it the 163rd largest country in the world. That is about 2.2 times the size of Luxembourg.
What is the highest mountain in Brunei?
The highest mountain in Brunei is Bukit Pagon, 1 841 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Brunei?
The longest river in Brunei is the Belait, about 206 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Brunei?
The largest lake in Brunei is Tasek Merimbun. It covers about 2 km².
Which continent is Brunei in?
Brunei is in Asia, in the part called South-Eastern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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