The 2008 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
13.8 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
3.99 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
9.4 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
390.8 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
$7.101 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$6.767 billion f.o.b. (2006)
Exports - commodities:
crude oil, natural gas, refined products, clothing
Exports - partners:
Japan 32.8%, Indonesia 24.4%, Australia 13.4%, South Korea 12.2%, US 5.5% (2007)
Imports:
$2 billion c.i.f. (2006)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals
Imports - partners:
UK 46.4%, Singapore 19.5%, Malaysia 11.3% (2007)
Economic aid - recipient:
$770,000 (2004)
Debt - external:
$0 (2005)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA
Currency (code):
Bruneian dollar (BND)
Currency code:
BND
Exchange rates:
Bruneian dollars (BND) per US dollar - NA (2007), 1.5886 (2006), 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (2004), 1.7422 (2003)
Communications
Brunei
Telephones - main lines in use:
79,200 (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
339,800 (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: service throughout the country is excellent; international service is good to Southeast Asia, Middle East, Western Europe, and the US domestic: every service available international: country code - 673; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; the Asia-America Gateway submarine cable network, scheduled for completion by late 2008, will provide new links to Asia and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 2 (transmitting on 18 different frequencies), shortwave 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) station transmits two FM signals with English and Nepali service) (2006)
Radios:
329,000 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
4 (includes 2 UHF stations broadcasting a subscription service) (2006)
Televisions:
201,900 (1998)
Internet country code:
.bn
Internet hosts:
14,950 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)
Internet users:
199,532 (2007)
Transportation
Brunei
Airports:
2 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
Heliports:
3 (2007)
Pipelines:
gas 672 km; oil 463 km (2007)
Roadways:
total: 3,650 km paved: 2,819 km unpaved: 831 km (2005)
Waterways:
209 km (navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m) (2007)
Merchant marine:
total: 8 by type: liquefied gas 8 foreign-owned: 1 (UK 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Lumut, Muara, Seria
Military
Brunei
Military branches:
Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF): Royal Brunei Land Forces, Royal Brunei Navy, Royal Brunei Air Force (Tentera Udara Diraja Brunei) (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age (est.) for voluntary military service; non-Malays are ineligible to serve (2007)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16–49: 108,356 females age 16–49: 110,153 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16–49: 91,297 females age 16–49: 93,228 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 3,223 female: 3,182 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
4.5% of GDP (2006)
Transnational Issues
Brunei
Disputes - international:
Brunei and Malaysia agreed in September 2008 to resolve their offshore and deepwater seabed dispute, resume hydrocarbon exploration, and renounce any territorial claims on land; Brunei established an exclusive economic fishing zone encompassing Louisa Reef in the 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
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
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@Bulgaria
Introduction
Bulgaria
Background:
The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern