Negara Brunei Darussalam is usually known as Brunei. “Negara” is Malaysian, meaning “Country”. The word of “Brunei” originates from Sanskrit, meaning “the Seafarer” or seafaring merchants by Malaysians. Darussalam is Arabic, meaning “Abode of Peace”. Therefore, Negara Brunei Darussalam means “seafarers living in the Abode of Peace”.

Brunei is located in the northwest of Borneo Island, the 3rd largest island of the world. It dwells between Malaysian states of Sarawak and Negeri Sabah, covering an area of 5,765 square kilometers. It borders with Malaysian State of Sarawak from 3 directions, and is separated into two parts. To the north it borders with China South Sea with a coastline of 161 km. The climate of Brunei is tropical rainforest climate, rainy and hot all year around with an average temperature of 28 Celsius degrees. It was anciently called Po-ni. In the 15th century, Islamism was introduced in Brunei and a sultanate country was established, reaching its peak in the 16th century. Since the mid of the 16th century, it had been invaded by Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and the UK. In 1888 it became a British protected state. In 1941 it was occupied by Japan. In 1946 the UK regained its control over Brunei. On January 1, 1984, Brunei declared its independence. Exporting 21,500 barrels of oil and rich deposit of natural gas made Brunei one of the richest countries in the world. In Malaysian, Brunei refers to “plant”, specially meaning mango. Darussalam means in Arabic the land of peace or a world of happiness. Arriving Brunei would make you feel like coming to the nation in the stories of Aladdin, marveled at the golden and splendid royal architectures, courteous Islamic residents, and prosperous people’s life. This is Brunei, a miracle protected by Allah, and the 21st-Century real Arabian Nights.

The area of Brunei is 5,765 square kilometers. According to statistics of 2009, Malays accounted for 66.4% of the total population, whilst Chinese accounted for 11% and the rest are other ethnic groups. The national language is Malaysian, belonging to the language family of Malayo-Polynesian. English is commonly used, and Chinese is also widely spoken. Jawi, the local version of Arabic script adapted to write the sounds of Malay was previously used. In cases like personal signature or naming public building Jawi is still used. After the invasion of British in the 19th century, Latin alphabet is used for written language, and English became popular. In addition to English and Malaysian, Brunei Chinese also spoke Hokkien and Cantonese. Most local Chinese could speak Mandarin. The major newspapers are published in English, Malaysian and Chinese. Islam is the national religion. Malays in Brunei mostly believe in Sunni Islam. Other religions include Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity etc. Muslim population accounted for 63%. Buddhists accounted for 12%. Christians accounted for 9%.

Brunei is located at the northwest of Kalimantan island, 443 km north to the equator. With 33 islands, Brunei has a coastline totaling 162 km. It borders with Malaysian State of Sarawak in the east, south and west, and is separated into two parts, one in the east and one in the west. The east half is composed by wide coastal plain and rugged mountainous areas, whereas most parts of the west half are hills and bottom lands. There are 4 major rivers, respectively, Brunei River, Tutong River, Belait River and Temburong River. Around 75% of the land is covered by primeval forest. The climate in Brunei is Tropical rainforest climate, hot and rainy all year round. There are 2 seasons, i.e. the dry season and rainy season, respectively lasting from March to October, and November to next February. Its precipitation peaks in December. Recently, dry seasons and rainy seasons are not distinctly separated. The annual precipitation is 2,500 – 3,500 mm. As for temperature, the highest temperature is generally 33 degrees and the lowest temperature is 24 degrees, with an average temperature of 28 degrees. The average humidity is 82%.