Ethnic Chinese in Brunei

Ethnic Chinese in Brunei
汶萊華人; Orang Cina di Brunei; اورڠ چينا د بروني‎
	Chinese women and children in Kuala Belait, 1945.
Total population
	42,132; 9.6% of the Bruneian population (2021)
Languages
	English and Malay as medium of communication in schools and government • Mandarin (lingua franca) • Chinese varieties such as Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese, Hakka
Religion
	Buddhism • Christianity • Taoism • Islam • Chinese folk religion
Related ethnic groups
	Singaporean Chinese · Malaysian Chinese · Indonesian Chinese · Overseas Chinese

Ethnic Chinese in Brunei are people of full or partial Chinese – particularly Han Chinese – ancestry who are citizens or residents in Brunei. As of 2015, they constitute 10.1% of the country's population, making them the second largest ethnic group in Brunei. Brunei is home to one of the smaller communities of overseas Chinese. Many Chinese in Brunei are stateless.^[4]

Ethnic Chinese in Brunei were encouraged to settle because of their commercial and business acumen. The biggest Chinese group is the Hokkien; many originated from Kinmen and Xiamen in China. The Hakka and Cantonese represent a minority of the Chinese population. Despite their small numbers, the Hokkien have a considerable presence in Brunei's private and business sector, providing commercial and entrepreneurial expertise and often operating joint business ventures with Malaysian Chinese enterprises.^[5]

^ "Population by Religion, Sex and Census Year".
^ "Brunei". state.gov. 14 September 2007.
^ Islamic banking in Southeast Asia, By Mohamed Ariff, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pg. 24
^ Tolman, Alana (8 April 2016). "Brunei's stateless left in a state of confusion". New Mandala. Retrieved 23 April 2022. Many ethnic Chinese residents of Brunei have lived in the kingdom for generations, accounting for 15 percent of the population. Yet, due to difficult and slow bureaucratic measures around immigration, they remain permanent residents, not citizens – they are essentially stateless.
^ Richter, Frank-Jürgen, ed. (1999). "Overseas Chinese and Overseas Indian Business Networks". Business Networks in Asia: Promises, Doubts, and Perspectives. Greenwood. ISBN 9781567203028. Retrieved 2012-05-16.

[:0-1] "Population by Religion, Sex and Census Year".

[2] "Brunei". state.gov. 14 September 2007.

[3] Islamic banking in Southeast Asia, By Mohamed Ariff, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pg. 24

[4] Tolman, Alana (8 April 2016). "Brunei's stateless left in a state of confusion". New Mandala. Retrieved 23 April 2022. Many ethnic Chinese residents of Brunei have lived in the kingdom for generations, accounting for 15 percent of the population. Yet, due to difficult and slow bureaucratic measures around immigration, they remain permanent residents, not citizens – they are essentially stateless.

[5] Richter, Frank-Jürgen, ed. (1999). "Overseas Chinese and Overseas Indian Business Networks". Business Networks in Asia: Promises, Doubts, and Perspectives. Greenwood. ISBN 9781567203028. Retrieved 2012-05-16.

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汶萊華人 Orang Cina di Brunei اورڠ چينا د بروني‎
Chinese women and children in Kuala Belait, 1945.
Total population
42,132 9.6% of the Bruneian population (2021)^[1]
Languages
English and Malay as medium of communication in schools and government • Mandarin (lingua franca) • Chinese varieties such as Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese, Hakka
Religion
Buddhism • Christianity^[2] • Taoism • Islam^[3] • Chinese folk religion
Related ethnic groups
Singaporean Chinese · Malaysian Chinese · Indonesian Chinese · Overseas Chinese