East Asia & Pacific · High income
Brunei: the economy in numbers
Per person: $32,235, or $92,430 at purchasing power parity. Population: 466,330 (2025).
$15B+0.7%real GDP growth, 2025
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #145 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +1.9%.
GDP per capita
$32,235
2025 · #53 of 204
GDP per capita, PPP
$92,430
2025 · #10 of 197
Inflation
−0.3%
2025 · IMF forecast 2026: 0.8%
Government debt
1.6%
2025 · % of GDP, general government
Population
466K
2025 · #173 of 217
Unemployment
5.3%
2025 · ILO estimate
Life expectancy
75.5 years
2024
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $1.17 billion in 1965, $15 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $10,522 per person in 1965, $32,235 in 2025.
GDP per capitaGDP per capita, PPP (international $)
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 0.6% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1975: 22 of 51.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose by 11.6% from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 9.1% in 1981.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 1985: 3.2% of GDP in 2014. IMF forecast for 2031: 1.3%.
Population
1960: 88,347 · 2025: 466,330.
Unemployment rate
1991: 4.7% · 2025: 5.3%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 58.7 years · 2024: 75.5 years.
Exports of goods and services
1974: 41.7% · 2025: 71.6%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 4.1%f | 1.0%f | 1.3%f | |||||||
| 2030 | 6.6%f | 1.0%f | 1.3%f | |||||||
| 2029 | 2.2%f | 1.0%f | 1.4%f | |||||||
| 2028 | 2.7%f | 1.0%f | 1.4%f | |||||||
| 2027 | 1.3%f | 0.9%f | 1.4%f | |||||||
| 2026 | 1.9%f | 0.8%f | 1.3%f | |||||||
| 2025 | $15B | $32,235 | $92,430 | 0.7% | −0.3% | 1.6% | 466K | 5.3% | 71.6% | |
| 2024 | $15.3B | $33,153 | $90,010 | 4.1% | −0.4% | 1.6% | 463K | 5.2% | 75.5 | 74.3% |
| 2023 | $15.1B | $32,891 | $85,103 | 1.1% | 0.4% | 1.7% | 459K | 5.3% | 75.3 | 76.7% |
| 2022 | $16.7B | $36,633 | $81,789 | −1.6% | 3.7% | 1.3% | 455K | 5.2% | 72.9 | 86.4% |
| 2021 | $14B | $31,007 | $78,249 | −1.6% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 452K | 4.9% | 74.9 | 80.2% |
| 2020 | $12B | $26,834 | $69,788 | 1.1% | 1.9% | 2.2% | 447K | 7.4% | 75.1 | 57.4% |
| 2019 | $13.5B | $30,427 | $69,354 | 3.9% | −0.4% | 1.8% | 443K | 6.6% | 75.0 | 57.9% |
| 2018 | $13.6B | $30,988 | $65,149 | 0.1% | 0.2% | 1.9% | 438K | 8.7% | 75.0 | 51.9% |
| 2017 | $12.1B | $28,024 | $61,658 | 1.3% | −0.2% | 2.6% | 433K | 9.3% | 74.9 | 49.6% |
| 2016 | $11.4B | $26,663 | $56,680 | −2.5% | −0.7% | 3.0% | 428K | 8.5% | 74.9 | 49.6% |
| 2015 | $12.9B | $30,625 | $62,708 | −0.4% | −0.4% | 3.0% | 422K | 7.7% | 74.9 | 52.2% |
| 2014 | $17.1B | $41,027 | $81,226 | −2.5% | −0.2% | 3.2% | 417K | 6.9% | 74.9 | 68.2% |
| 2013 | $18.1B | $44,003 | $83,237 | −2.1% | 0.4% | 2.2% | 411K | 6.7% | 74.9 | 68.0% |
| 2012 | $19B | $46,969 | $87,256 | 0.9% | 0.1% | 2.1% | 406K | 6.6% | 74.8 | 70.2% |
| 2011 | $18.5B | $46,383 | $82,735 | 3.7% | 0.1% | 2.1% | 399K | 6.5% | 74.8 | 69.5% |
| 2010 | $13.7B | $34,938 | $79,543 | 2.7% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 392K | 6.5% | 74.8 | 67.4% |
| 2009 | $11.9B | $30,946 | $77,957 | −1.9% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 385K | 6.5% | 74.8 | 59.7% |
| 2008 | $15.9B | $42,157 | $80,477 | −3.9% | 2.1% | 0.9% | 378K | 6.3% | 74.8 | 65.9% |
| 2007 | $13.4B | $36,217 | $83,693 | −3.8% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 371K | 6.2% | 74.8 | 57.0% |
| 2006 | $12.6B | $34,675 | $86,114 | 4.1% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 365K | 6.1% | 74.8 | 60.2% |
| 2005 | $10.5B | $29,386 | $81,534 | −0.0% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 359K | 6.0% | 74.7 | 58.6% |
| 2004 | $8.62B | $24,423 | $80,404 | 0.1% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 353K | 5.8% | 74.6 | 57.8% |
| 2003 | $7.17B | $20,678 | $79,632 | 3.6% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 347K | 5.7% | 74.5 | 58.4% |
| 2002 | $6.33B | $18,621 | $76,838 | 4.0% | −2.3% | 0.0% | 340K | 5.7% | 74.4 | 56.7% |
| 2001 | $6.1B | $18,288 | $74,254 | 1.5% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 333K | 5.6% | 74.2 | 57.9% |
| 2000 | $6.57B | $20,130 | $73,087 | 3.5% | 1.6% | 0.0% | 326K | 5.5% | 74.0 | 57.0% |
| 1999 | $6.31B | $19,752 | $70,585 | 4.3% | −0.4% | 0.0% | 319K | 5.4% | 73.8 | 40.7% |
| 1998 | $5.55B | $17,769 | $68,257 | −6.7% | −0.4% | 0.0% | 312K | 5.4% | 73.6 | 36.8% |
| 1997 | $7.79B | $25,522 | $73,980 | 6.3% | 1.7% | 0.0% | 305K | 5.2% | 73.3 | 38.1% |
| 1996 | $7.66B | $25,692 | $70,008 | −0.0% | 2.0% | 0.0% | 298K | 5.2% | 73.1 | 40.0% |
| 1995 | $7.7B | $26,443 | $70,440 | 1.3% | 6.0% | 0.0% | 291K | 5.1% | 72.8 | 36.7% |
| 1994 | $6.47B | $22,767 | $69,779 | 1.0% | 2.5% | 0.0% | 284K | 5.0% | 72.6 | 32.3% |
| 1993 | $6.2B | $22,397 | $69,387 | −0.6% | 4.3% | 0.0% | 277K | 4.9% | 72.3 | 36.2% |
| 1992 | $6.33B | $23,451 | $70,016 | −3.1% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 270K | 4.8% | 72.1 | 38.3% |
| 1991 | $6.28B | $23,932 | $72,610 | 2.9% | 1.6% | 0.0% | 263K | 4.7% | 71.9 | 39.3% |
| 1990 | $6.04B | $23,659 | $70,201 | 2.6% | 2.1% | 0.0% | 255K | 71.6 | 36.0% | |
| 1989 | $4.98B | $20,090 | −2.7% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 248K | 71.4 | 37.0% | ||
| 1988 | $4.54B | $18,825 | −1.5% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 241K | 71.2 | |||
| 1987 | $4.92B | $21,030 | 2.1% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 234K | 71.0 | |||
| 1986 | $4.19B | $18,501 | −5.4% | 1.8% | 0.0% | 226K | 70.8 | |||
| 1985 | $6.97B | $31,827 | −2.9% | 2.4% | 0.0% | 219K | 70.5 | |||
| 1984 | $7.63B | $36,061 | −2.4% | 3.1% | 212K | 70.2 | ||||
| 1983 | $7.93B | $38,720 | 0.4% | 1.2% | 205K | 70.0 | 42.8% | |||
| 1982 | $8.93B | $45,075 | 2.3% | 6.4% | 198K | 69.7 | 42.7% | |||
| 1981 | $9.37B | $48,793 | −22.4% | 9.1% | 192K | 69.3 | 43.4% | |||
| 1980 | $10.8B | $58,005 | −9.7% | 186K | 69.0 | 42.6% | ||||
| 1979 | $6.04B | $33,501 | 24.3% | 180K | 68.6 | 44.1% | ||||
| 1978 | $4.1B | $23,447 | 7.0% | 175K | 68.3 | 45.0% | ||||
| 1977 | $3.68B | $21,747 | 9.9% | 169K | 67.8 | 44.5% | ||||
| 1976 | $3.05B | $18,671 | 20.9% | 164K | 67.4 | 43.6% | ||||
| 1975 | $2.5B | $15,793 | −0.6% | 158K | 67.0 | 42.1% | ||||
| 1974 | $2.32B | $15,195 | 153K | 66.4 | 41.7% | |||||
| 1973 | $433M | $2,939 | 147K | 66.0 | ||||||
| 1972 | $271M | $1,905 | 142K | 65.4 | ||||||
| 1971 | $198M | $1,432 | 138K | 65.0 | ||||||
| 1970 | $179M | $1,325 | 135K | 64.5 | ||||||
| 1969 | $161M | $1,226 | 131K | 64.0 | ||||||
| 1968 | $161M | $1,274 | 126K | 63.5 | ||||||
| 1967 | $139M | $1,149 | 121K | 62.9 | ||||||
| 1966 | $133M | $1,146 | 116K | 62.4 | ||||||
| 1965 | $114M | $1,029 | 111K | 61.7 | ||||||
| 1964 | 106K | 61.3 | ||||||||
| 1963 | 101K | 60.6 | ||||||||
| 1962 | 96.7K | 58.8 | ||||||||
| 1961 | 92.5K | 59.4 | ||||||||
| 1960 | 88.3K | 58.7 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast.
Nearby economies in East Asia & Pacific
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
American Samoa · Australia · Brunei · Cambodia · China · Fiji · French Polynesia · Guam · Hong Kong · Indonesia · Japan · Kiribati · Laos · Macao · Malaysia · Marshall Islands · Micronesia · Mongolia · Myanmar · Nauru · New Caledonia · New Zealand · North Korea · Northern Mariana Islands · Palau · Papua New Guinea · Philippines · Samoa · Singapore · Solomon Islands · South Korea · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Tonga · Tuvalu · Vanuatu · Vietnam
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)