Brunei

Brunei, officially known as the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, is located on the island of Borneo in the South China Sea. The rest of the island is occupied by Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei is surrounded by Malaysia on the sides that are not coastline-- it is in two chunks that are separated by Malaysia. It's land size is roughly that of Delaware.

The capital is Bandar Seri Begawan, and the population is about 400,000.

Brunei is a constitutional sultanate that got its independence from the UK in 1984. It has lots of oil and natural gas, which make up its main industries. From the 13th-15th centuries, Brunei was allied with the Hindu Javanese Majapahit kingdom. As this kingdom declined, it became an independent sultanate  and Islam became widespread. From the 16th-19th centuries, Brunei was a powerful state, ruling much of Borneo and surrounding islands. In 1888, Britain established a protectorate over Brunei, which held until 1984, except for a brief occupation by Japan during WWII. The ruling monarch disbanded the parliament in 1984, making Brunei an absolute monarchy, but reinstated it in 2004 (although all the ministers are appointed by the sultan). In 2013, the government instated a 3-step plan for imposing shariah law on Muslims (and some laws that are applicable to non-Muslims)

Today, 3/4 of the population is Muslim Malay, while the rest is a mixture of mostly Chinese and indigenous people.

FUN FACT: Bruneians don’t point using their index fingers; this is considered impolite. They point with their thumbs instead.