Brunei Geography - 2024

Location

Southeastern Asia, along the northern coast of the island of Borneo, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia

Geographic coordinates

4 30 N, 114 40 E

Map references

Southeast Asia

Area

total: 5,765 sq km

land: 5,265 sq km

water: 500 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Delaware

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 266 km

border countries (1): Malaysia 266 km

Coastline

161 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or to median line

Climate

tropical; hot, humid, rainy

Terrain

flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland in west

Elevation

highest point: Bukit Pagon 1,850 m

lowest point: South China Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 478 m

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, timber

Land use

agricultural land: 2.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 0.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 71.8% (2018 est.)

other: 25.7% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

10 sq km (2012)

Population distribution

the vast majority of the population is found along the coast in the western part of Brunei, which is separated from the eastern portion by Malaysia; the largest population concentration is in the far north on the western side of the Brunei Bay, in and around the capital of Bandar Seri Begawan

Natural hazards

typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are rare

Geography - note

close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by Malaysia; the eastern part, the Temburong district, is an exclave and is almost an enclave within Malaysia