Daud; Chancery at 2600 VirginiaAvenue NW, Suite 3000, Washington, DC 20037; telephone (202) 342-0159
US:
Ambassador (vacant); Embassy at Third Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jalan Sultan,
American Embassy Box B, APO AP 96440; telephone [673] (2) 229-670; FAX [673]
(2) 225-293
Flag:
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
:Brunei Economy
Overview:
The economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship,
government regulation and welfare measures, and village tradition. It is
almost totally supported by exports of crude oil and natural gas, with
revenues from the petroleum sector accounting for more than 50% of GDP. Per
capita GDP of $8,800 is among the highest in the Third World, and
substantial income from overseas investment supplements domestic production.
The government provides for all medical services and subsidizes food and
housing.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $3.5 billion, per capita $8,800; real growth rate
1% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.3% (1989)
Unemployment rate:
3.7%, shortage of skilled labor (1989)
Budget:
revenues $1.3 billion; expenditures $1.5 billion, including capital
expenditures of $255 million (1989 est.)
Exports:
$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
commodities:
crude oil, liquefied natural gas, petroleum products
partners:
Japan 53%, UK 12%, South Korea 9%, Thailand 7%, Singapore 5% (1990)
Imports:
$1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.)
commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals
partners:
Singapore 35%, UK 26%, Switzerland 9%, US 9%, Japan 5% (1990)
External debt:
none
Industrial production:
growth rate 12.9% (1987); accounts for 52.4% of GDP
Electricity:
310,000 kW capacity; 890 million kWh produced, 2,400 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas, construction
Agriculture:
imports about 80% of its food needs; principal crops and livestock include
rice, cassava, bananas, buffaloes, and pigs
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $20.6 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $153 million
Currency:
Bruneian dollar (plural - dollars); 1 Bruneian dollar (B$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Bruneian dollars (B$) per US$1 - 1.7454 (January 1991), 1.8125 (1990),
1.9503 (1989), 2.0124 (1988), 2.1060 (1987), 2.1774 (1986); note - the
Bruneian dollar is at par with the Singapore dollar
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Brunei Communications
Railroads:
13 km 0.610-meter narrow-gauge private line
Highways:
1,090 km total; 370 km paved (bituminous treated) and another 52 km under
construction, 720 km gravel or unimproved
Inland waterways:
209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 meters
Pipelines:
crude oil 135 km; petroleum products 418 km; natural gas 920 km
Ports:
Kuala Belait, Muara
Merchant marine:
7 liquefied gas carriers (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 348,476 GRT/340,635
DWT
Civil air:
4 major transport aircraft (3 Boeing 757-200, 1 Boeing 737-200)
Airports:
2 total, 2 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runway over
3,659 m; 1 with runway 1,406 m
Telecommunications:
service throughout country is adequate for present needs; international
service good to adjacent Malaysia; radiobroadcast coverage good; 33,000
telephones (1987); broadcast stations - 4 AM/FM, 1 TV; 74,000 radio
receivers (1987); satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1
Pacific Ocean INTELSAT
:Brunei Defense Forces
Branches:
