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bandar seri begawan administrative divisions: 4 districts (daerah-daerah. singular - daerah); belait. brunei and muara. temburong. tutong independence: 1 january 1984 (from uk) national holiday: national day. 23 february (1984); note - 1 january 1984 was the date of independence from the uk. 23 february 1984 was the date of independence from british protection constitution: 29 september 1959 (some provisions suspended under a state of emergency since december 1962. others since independence on 1 january 1984) legal system: based on english common law; for muslims. islamic shari'a law supersedes civil law in a number of areas suffrage: none executive branch: chief of state: sultan and prime minister sir hassanal bolkiah (since 5 october 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: sultan and prime minister sir hassanal bolkiah (since 5 october 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: council of cabinet ministers appointed and presided over by the monarch; deals with executive matters; note - there is also a religious council (members appointed by the monarch) that advises on religious matters. a privy council (members appointed by the monarch) that deals with constitutional matters. and the council of succession (members appointed by the monarch) that determines the succession to the throne if the need arises elections: none; the monarch is hereditary legislative branch: legislative council met on 25 september 2004 for first time in 20 years with 21 members appointed by the sultan; passed constitutional amendments calling for a 45-seat council with 15 elected members; sultan dissolved council on 1 september 2005 and appointed a new council with 29 members as of 2 september 2005 elections: last held in march 1962 (date of next election na) judicial branch: supreme court (chief justice and judges are sworn in by the monarch for three-year terms) political parties and leaders: national development party (ndp) [yassin affendi]; national unity party of brunei (ppkb) [haji mohd hatta bin haji zainal abidin]; people's awareness party (pakar) [awang haji maidin bin haji ahmad] note: parties are small and inactive (2005) political pressure groups and leaders: na international organization participation: apec. apt. arf. asean. c. eas. g-77. ibrd. icao. icrm. idb. ifrcs. imf. imo. interpol. ioc. iso (correspondent). itu. nam. oic. opcw. un. unctad. upu. wco. who. wipo. wmo. wto diplomatic representation in the us: chief of mission: ambassador pengiran anak dato puteh chancery: 3520 international court nw. washington. dc 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1838 fax: [1] (202) 885-0560 diplomatic representation from the us: chief of mission: ambassador emil skodon embassy: third floor. teck guan plaza. jalan sultan. bandar seri begawan. bs8811 mailing address: psc 470 (bsb). fpo ap 96507 telephone: [673] (2) 220-384 fax: [673] (2) 225-293 flag description: yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top. almost double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national emblem in red is superimposed at the center; the emblem includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands economy - overview: this small. well-to-do economy encompasses a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship. government regulation. welfare measures. and village tradition. crude oil and natural gas production account for nearly half of gdp. per capita gdp is far above most other third world countries. and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production. the government provides for all medical services and free education through the university level and subsidizes rice and housing. brunei's leaders are concerned that steadily increased integration in the world economy will undermine internal social cohesion. although it became a more prominent player by serving as chairman for the 2000 apec (asian pacific economic cooperation) forum. plans for the future include upgrading the labor force. reducing unemployment. strengthening the banking and tourist sectors. and. in general. further widening the economic base beyond oil and gas. gdp (purchasing power parity): $6.842 billion (2003 est.) gdp (official exchange rate): na gdp - real growth rate: 3.2% (2003 est.) gdp - per capita: purchasing power parity - $23.600 (2003 est.) gdp - composition by sector: agriculture: 5% industry: 45% services: 50% (2001 est.) labor force: 158.000 note: includes foreign workers and military personnel; temporary residents make up about 40% of labor force (2002 est.) labor force - by occupation: agriculture. forestry. and fishing 10%. production of oil. natural gas. services. and construction 42%. government 48% (1999 est.) unemployment rate: 3.2% (2002 est.) population below poverty line: na household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: na highest 10%: na inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.3% (2003 est.) budget: revenues: $4.9 billion expenditures: $4.2 billion. including capital expenditures of $1.35 billion (2003 est.) agriculture - products: rice. vegetables. fruits. chickens. water buffalo industries: petroleum. petroleum refining. liquefied natural gas. construction industrial production growth rate: 5% (2002 est.) electricity - production: 2.659 billion kwh (2003) electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) electricity - consumption: 2.473 billion kwh (2003) electricity - exports: 0 kwh (2003) electricity - imports: 0 kwh (2003) oil - production: 196.400 bbl/day (2003) oil - consumption: 12.000 bbl/day (2003 est.) oil - exports: 199.000 bbl/day (2003) oil - imports: na (2003) oil - proved reserves: 1.255 billion bbl (1 january 2002) natural gas - production: 10.35 billion cu m (2001 est.) natural gas - consumption: 1.35 billion cu m (2001 est.) natural gas - exports: 9 billion cu m (2001 est.) natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.) natural gas - proved reserves: 315 billion cu m (1 january 2002) exports: $4.514 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) exports - partners: japan 38.1%. south korea 14%. australia 11.2%. us 8.6%. thailand 7.9%. indonesia 5.9%. china 4.5% (2004) imports: $1.641 billion c.i.f. (2004 est.) imports - partners: singapore 32.7%. malaysia 21.2%. uk 8.3%. japan 7.2% (2004) debt - external: $0 economic aid - recipient: na $4.3 million (1995) currency (code): bruneian dollar (bnd) currency code: bnd exchange rates: bruneian dollars per us dollar - na (2005). 1.6902 (2004). 1.7422 (2003). 1.7906 (2002). 1.7917 (2001) fiscal year: calendar year telephones - main lines in use: 90.000 (2002) telephones - mobile cellular: 137.000 (2002) telephone system: general assessment: service throughout the country is excellent; international service is good to east asia. europe. and the us domestic: every service available international: country code - 673; satellite earth stations - 2 intelsat (1 indian ocean and 1 pacific ocean); digital submarine cable links to malaysia. the philippines. and singapore (2001) radio broadcast stations: am 3. fm 10. shortwave 0 (1998) radios: 329.000 (1998) television broadcast stations: 2 (1997) televisions: 201.900 (1998) internet country code: .bn internet hosts: 6.409 (2003) internet service providers (isps): 2 (2000) internet users: 35.000 (2002) airports: 2 (2004 est.) airports - with paved runways: total: 1 over 3.047 m: 1 (2005 est.) airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 914 to 1.523 m: 1 (2005 est.) heliports: 3 (2005 est.) pipelines: gas 665 km; oil 439 km (2004) roadways: total: 1.150 km paved: 399 km unpaved: 751 km (1999) waterways: 209 km (navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m) (2004) merchant marine: total: 8 ships (1.000 grt or over) 465.937 grt/413.393 dwt by type: liquefied gas 8 foreign-owned: 8 (united kingdom 8) (2005) ports and terminals: lumut. muara. seria military branches: royal brunei armed forces: royal brunei land forces. royal brunei navy. royal brunei air force military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.) (2004) manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 103.885 (2005 est.) manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: approx. 85.045 (2005 est.) manpower reaching military service age annually: males: 3.478 (2005 est.) military expenditures - dollar figure: $290.7 million (2004) military expenditures - percent of gdp: 5.1% (2004) disputes - international: in 2003 brunei and malaysia ceased gas and oil exploration in their disputed offshore and deepwater seabeds and negotiations have stalemated prompting consideration of international legal adjudication; malaysia's land boundary with brunei around limbang is in dispute; brunei established an exclusive economic fishing zone encompassing louisa reef in southern spratly islands in 1984 but makes no public territorial claim to the offshore reefs; the 2002 "declaration on the conduct of parties in the south china sea" has eased tensions in the spratly islands but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants illicit drugs: drug trafficking and illegally importing controlled substances are serious offenses in brunei and carry a mandatory death penalty
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