Economy Overview
Brunei has a small well-to-do economy that depends on revenue from natural resource extraction but is also characterized by a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition. Crude oil and natural gas production account for 70% of GDP and more than 90% of exports, with Japan and Korea as the primary export markets. Per capita GDP is among the highest in the world, and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic hydrocarbon production. For Bruneian citizens, who pay no taxes, the government provides for all medical services and free education through the university level. The government of Brunei has been emphasizing through policy and resource investments its strong desire to diversify its economy both within the oil and gas sector and to new sectors. Brunei is a founding member of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement negotiations as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and, with the nine other ASEAN members, will form the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.
Agriculture Products
rice, vegetables, fruits; chickens, water buffalo, cattle, goats, eggs
Industries
petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas, construction, agriculture, transportation
Industrial Production Growth Rate
-4.4% (2014 est.)
Labor Force
205,800 (2011 est.)
Labor Force by Occupation
Agriculture: 4.2%
Industry: 62.8%
Services: 33% (2008 est.)
Unemployment Rate
2.7% (2013 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line
NA%
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: NA%
Highest 10%: NA%
Budget
Revenues: $6.368 billion
Expenditures: $5.743 billion (2014 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$3.517 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
Stock of Broad Money
$11.41 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Stock of Domestic Credit
$3.452 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$NA
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
Debt External
$3.576 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
Exchange Rates
1.3635 (2010 est.)
