Demographics of Brunei

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Brunei, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Like neighbouring countries, Brunei is a Malay-dominated country. Many cultural and linguistic differences make Brunei Malays distinct from the larger Malay populations in nearby Malaysia and Indonesia, even though they are ethnically related and share the Muslim religion.

Brunei has a hereditary nobility with the title Pengiran these are, more often than not, related to the Sultan by blood. The Sultan can award to commoners the title Pehin, the equivalent of a life peerage awarded in the United Kingdom. The Sultan also can award his subjects the Dato, the equivalent of a knighthood in the United Kingdom, and Datin, the equivalent of a damehood.

Bruneians adhere to the practice of using complete full names with all titles, including the title Haji (for men) or Hajjah (for women) for those who have made the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca. Many Brunei Malay women wear the tudong, a traditional head covering. Men wear the songkok, a traditional Malay cap. Men who have completed the Haj wear a white songkok.

The requirements to attain Brunei citizenship include passing tests in Malay culture, customs and language. Stateless permanent residents of Brunei are given International Certificates of Identity, which allow them to travel overseas. The majority of Brunei's Chinese are permanent residents, and many are stateless.

Petroleum wealth allows the Brunei Government to provide the population with one of Asia's finest health care systems. The Brunei Medical and Health Department introduced the region's first government "flying doctor service" in early 1965. Malaria has been eradicated, and cholera is virtually nonexistent. There are three general hospitals--in Bandar Seri Begawan, Tutong, and Kuala Belait--and there are numerous health clinics throughout the country.

Education starts with preschool, followed by 6 years of primary education and up to 6 years of secondary education. Nine years of education are mandatory. Most of Brunei's college students attend universities and other institutions abroad, but approximately 2,542 study at the University of Brunei Darussalam. Opened in 1985, the university has a faculty of over 300 instructors and is located on a sprawling campus at Tungku, overlooking the South China Sea.

The official language is Malay, but English is widely understood and used in business. Other languages spoken are several Chinese dialects, Iban, and a number of native dialects. Islam is the official religion, but religious freedom is guaranteed under the constitution.

Population

420,000 (July 2013 est.)

UN estimates

	Total population (thousands)	Population aged 0-14 (%)	Population aged 15-64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	48	36.4	58.7	4.9
1955	63	39.5	56.1	4.4
1960	80	42.1	53.8	4.1
1965	100	44.7	51.4	3.9
1970	125	41.1	55.0	3.8
1975	157	39.8	56.3	3.8
1980	189	38.7	58.4	3.0
1985	219	38.7	58.3	3.0
1990	252	35.4	61.8	2.8
1995	290	33.3	63.7	3.0
2000	327	30.3	66.7	2.9
2005	363	28.2	68.6	3.2
2010	399	26.2	70.2	3.6

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (20.06.2011) (Census) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	203 149	190 223	393 372	100
0-4	15 678	14 653	30 331	7,71
5-9	17 269	16 365	33 634	8,55
10-14	18 448	17 015	35 463	9,02
15-19	17 948	17 013	34 961	8,89
20-24	19 950	18 257	38 207	9,71
25-29	20 749	18 445	39 194	9,96
30-34	19 322	17 619	36 941	9,39
35-39	17 329	16 423	33 752	8,58
40-44	15 262	14 819	30 081	7,65
45-49	12 836	11 754	24 590	6,25
50-54	10 318	9 458	19 776	5,03
55-59	7 170	6 872	14 042	3,57
60-64	4 160	4 354	8 514	2,16
65-69	2 583	2 501	5 084	1,29
70-74	1 833	2 079	3 912	0,99
75-79	1 195	1 398	2 593	0,66
80-84	701	703	1 404	0,36
85+	398	495	893	0,23

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	51 395	48 033	99 428	25,28
15-64	145 044	135 014	280 058	71,19
65+	6 710	7 176	13 886	3,53

Median age

total: 27.5 years

male: 27.5 years

female: 27.8 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate

100.785% (2008 est.)

Net migration rate

2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Urbanization

Urban population: 79% of total population (2009)

Rate of urbanization: 2.8% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Vital statistics

UN estimates

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR1	CDR1	NC1	TFR1	IMR1
1950-1955	3 000	1 000	2 000	49.6	13.5	37.3	7.00	90.2
1955-1960	3 000	1 000	2 000	43.5	10.6	37.1	6.38	68.8
1960-1965	4 000	1 000	3 000	41.9	8.7	34.0	6.56	52.1
1965-1970	4 000	1 000	3 000	35.1	7.1	29.6	5.59	39.1
1970-1975	5 000	1 000	4 000	37.4	6.3	29.2	5.87	29.3
1975-1980	6 000	1 000	5 000	34.4	5.2	25.5	4.71	21.9
1980-1985	6 000	1 000	5 000	29.9	4.4	26.3	3.92	16.4
1985-1990	7 000	1 000	6 000	29.8	3.9	23.6	3.72	12.2
1990-1995	8 000	1 000	7 000	28.1	3.5	25.0	3.28	9.1
1995-2000	7 000	1 000	6 000	23.9	3.1	22.2	2.60	6.8
2000-2005	8 000	1 000	7 000	21.9	3.0	20.8	2.28	5.1
2005-2010	8 000	1 000	6 000	20.1	3.1	16.5	2.11	4.8
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Registered births and deaths

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)
1949	45	2 073	766	1 307	47.1	17.4	29.7
1950	48	2 316	826	1 490	50.3	18.0	32.4
1951	51	2 805	708	2 097	58.4	14.8	43.7
1952	54	2 809	865	1 944	54.0	16.6	37.4
1953	57	2 903	808	2 095	51.8	14.4	37.4
1954	60	3 332	776	2 556	54.6	12.7	41.9
1955	63	3 600	878	2 722	55.4	13.5	41.9
1956	66	4 076	904	3 172	59.1	13.1	46.0
1957	70	3 320	1 138	2 182	44.3	15.2	29.1
1958	73	4 399	911	3 488	55.0	11.4	43.6
1959	76	4 201	935	3 266	49.4	11.0	38.4
1960	80	4 105	917	3 188	45.6	10.2	35.4
1961	83	4 312	606	3 706	49.0	6.9	42.1
1962	87	3 980	628	3 352	43.3	6.8	36.4
1963	91	3 521	655	2 866	36.7	6.8	29.9
1964	95	4 178	621	3 557	41.8	6.2	35.6
1965	100	4 193	662	3 531	39.9	6.3	33.6
1966	104	4 089	657	3 432	37.5	6.0	31.5
1967	109	4 381	756	3 625	38.4	6.6	31.8
1968	114	4 912	715	4 197	41.3	6.0	35.3
1969	119	4 614	691	3 923	36.9	5.5	31.4
1970	125	4 823	716	4 107	37.1	5.5	31.6
1971	131	5 181	801	4 380	38.1	5.9	32.2
1972	137	5 008	742	4 266	35.3	5.2	30.0
1973	144	5 034	708	4 326	34.7	4.9	29.8
1974	150	5 013	640	4 373	33.4	4.3	29.2
1975	157	5 141	728	4 413	33.0	4.7	28.3
1976	163	5 300	667	4 633	32.5	4.1	28.4
1977	170	5 397	748	4 649	31.8	4.4	27.4
1978	176	5 590	731	4 859	31.7	4.1	27.5
1979	183	5 877	728	5 149	32.1	4.0	28.1
1980	189	5 767	742	5 025	30.5	3.9	26.5
1981	195	5 877	705	5 172	30.1	3.6	26.5
1982	201	5 952	783	5 169	29.6	3.9	25.7
1983	207	5 983	717	5 266	28.9	3.5	25.4
1984	213	6 330	768	5 562	29.7	3.6	26.1
1985	219	6 682	794	5 888	30.5	3.6	26.9
1986	225	6 920	723	6 197	30.7	3.2	27.5
1987	232	7 088	765	6 323	30.6	3.3	27.3
1988	238	6 881	777	6 104	28.9	3.3	25.6
1989	245	6 926	827	6 099	28.3	3.4	24.9
1990	252	7 011	770	6 241	27.8	3.1	24.8
1991	259	7 106	852	6 254	27.4	3.3	24.1
1992	267	7 290	887	6 403	27.3	3.3	24.0
1993	274	7 314	1 018	6 296	26.7	3.7	22.9
1994	282	7 400	1 000	6 400	26.2	3.5	22.7
1995	290	7 500	1 000	6 500	25.9	3.5	22.4
1996	297	7 633	1 002	6 631	25.7	3.4	22.3
1997	305	7 459	883	6 576	24.5	2.9	21.6
1998	312	7 411	928	6 483	23.7	3.0	20.8
1999	320	7 408	905	6 503	23.2	2.8	20.3
2000	327	7 481	965	6 516	22.9	3.0	19.9
2001	334	7 363	1 014	6 349	22.0	3.0	19.0
2002	342	7 464	1 041	6 423	21.9	3.0	18.8
2003	349	7 047	1 010	6 037	20.2	2.9	17.3
2004	356	7 165	1 010	6 155	20.1	2.8	17.3
2005	363	6 933	1 072	5 861	19.1	3.0	16.1
2006	370	6 526	1 095	5 431	17.6	3.0	14.7
2007	378	6 314	1 174	5 140	16.7	3.1	13.6
2008	385	6 424	1 091	5 333	16.7	2.8	13.9
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013		6 680	1 398	5 282

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.52 years

male: 73.32 years

female: 77.83 years (2009 est.)

Ethnic groups

Population of Brunei according to ethnic group 1947-2001

Ethnic group	census 1947		census 1960		census 1971		census 1981		census 1991		census 2001
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Malay	16,742	41.2	45,135	53.8	89,267	65.5	125,717	65.2	174,319	66.9
Kedayan1			4,291	5.1
Chinese	8,300	20.4	21,795	26.0	31,925	23.4	39,461	20.5	40,621	15.6
Dusun	2		4,873	5.8	8,552	6.3	15,175	7.9	15,665	6.0
Iban	1,330	3.3	3,900	4.6
Melanau	2,517	6.2	318	0.4
Indians	11,768	28.9	3,565	4.3	2,162	1.6	5,919	3.1	29,877	11.5
Others					4,350	3.2	6,560	3.4
Total	40,657		83,877		136,256		192,832		260,482		332,800
1 The Kedayan were only mentioned as a separate ethnic group in the 1960 census; they are probably included in the Malay in the other censuses. 2 included in 'Others'

Bruneian (Malay or also called Kedayan) 67%, Chinese 15%, indigenous 6%, other (including European and Filipino) 12%. Indigenous groups include the Iban people (a branch of the Dayak people), the Dusun and the Melanau.

Languages

1. REDIRECT Template:Main

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Malay (official), English, Chinese

Religions

Main article: Religion in Brunei

Muslim (official) 67%, Buddhist 13%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs and non-religious, Atheist or Agnostic 10%

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2003 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: less than 200 (2003 est.)

Deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Bruneian(s)

Adjective: Bruneian

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 93.9%

Male: 96.3%

Female: 91.4% (2002)

Education expenditures

5.2% of total GDP (2000)

See also

• Ethnic Chinese in Brunei

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the CIA World Factbook.