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The tiny state of Brunei has one of the world's highest standards of living thanks to its bountiful oil and gas reserves.

Members of the royal family, led by the head of state Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, possess huge private fortunes. Bruneians pay no income tax. The Sultan regularly allocates land lots and housing to deserving residents under various government schemes.

A British protectorate since 1888, Brunei was the only Malay state in 1963 which chose to remain so, rather than join the federation that became Malaysia. Full independence came relatively late in 1984.

In 2014 Brunei became the first East Asian country to adopt strict Islamic Sharia law which allows punishment such as stoning for adultery and amputation for theft. In 2019, it fully implemented a law prescribing death by stoning for adultery and gay sex in certain circumstances.

In the wake of international condemnation, the Sultan said that a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty would be applied as it had been for more than two decades in common law cases.
Source: BBC.com