Brunei vs Malaysia
Brunei vs Malaysia: GDP growth
GDP growth in 2025: 1% a year in Brunei and 5.2% a year in Malaysia, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Malaysia, by 4.2 percentage points, or 5.23 times that in Brunei.
% a year · IMF
What the numbers say
- Malaysia has been higher since 2021, when it overtook Brunei.
- In 2025, Brunei ranked 123 and Malaysia ranked 29 of 143 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Brunei at 4.1% a year and Malaysia at 4.3% a year in 2031.
Every year
% a year · IMF
| Year | Brunei | Malaysia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 5.2 |
| 2024 | 4.1 | 5.2 |
| 2023 | 1.1 | 3.6 |
| 2022 | -1.6 | 9 |
| 2021 | -1.6 | 3.3 |
| 2020 | 1.1 | -5.5 |
| 2019 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
| 2018 | 0.1 | 4.8 |
| 2017 | 1.3 | 5.8 |
| 2016 | -2.5 | 4.5 |
| 2015 | -0.4 | 5 |
| 2014 | -2.5 | 6 |
| 2013 | -2.1 | 4.7 |
| 2012 | 0.9 | 5.5 |
| 2011 | 3.7 | 5.3 |
| 2010 | 2.7 | 7.5 |
| 2009 | -1.9 | -1.5 |
| 2008 | -3.9 | 4.8 |
| 2007 | -3.8 | 6.3 |
| 2006 | 4.1 | 5.6 |
| 2005 | -0 | 5 |
| 2004 | 0.1 | 6.8 |
| 2003 | 3.6 | 5.8 |
| 2002 | 4 | 5.4 |
| 2001 | 1.5 | 0.5 |
| 2000 | 11 | 8.7 |
| 1999 | 3.1 | 6.1 |
| 1998 | -0.6 | -7.4 |
| 1997 | -1.5 | 7.3 |
| 1996 | 2.9 | 10 |
| 1995 | 4.5 | 9.8 |
| 1994 | 3.1 | 9.2 |
| 1993 | 0.3 | 9.9 |
| 1992 | 4.8 | 8.9 |
| 1991 | 3.1 | 9.5 |
| 1990 | 1.1 | 9 |
| 1989 | -1.1 | 9.1 |
| 1988 | 1.1 | 9.9 |
| 1987 | 2 | 5.4 |
| 1986 | -2.7 | 1.2 |
| 1985 | – | -0.9 |
| 1984 | – | 7.8 |
| 1983 | – | 6.3 |
| 1982 | – | 5.9 |
| 1981 | – | 6.9 |
| 1980 | – | 7.4 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Brunei | Malaysia |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.9 | 5.2 |
| 2027 | 1.3 | 4.6 |
| 2028 | 2.7 | 4.3 |
| 2029 | 2.2 | 4.3 |
| 2030 | 6.6 | 4.3 |
| 2031 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- How much the economy grew or shrank in a year, after inflation.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 143 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Brunei vs Malaysia
Health
- Life expectancyBrunei: 75.3 years in 2023Malaysia: 76.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBrunei: 1 per 100 live births in 2024Malaysia: 0.8 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBrunei: 8.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023Malaysia: 6.4 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionBrunei: 2.56% in 2017Malaysia: 3.52% in 2017
- Suicide rateBrunei: 6.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Malaysia: 7.8 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBrunei: 458,900 people in 2023Malaysia: 35.1 million people in 2023
- Population growthBrunei: 0.84% a year in 2023Malaysia: 1.24% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateBrunei: 1.75 births per woman in 2023Malaysia: 1.55 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBrunei: 75% in 2025Malaysia: 77.4% in 2025
- Median ageBrunei: 31.8 years in 2023Malaysia: 30.1 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBrunei: 6.5% in 2023Malaysia: 7.5% in 2023
- Net migration rateBrunei: 0 per 1,000 people in 2023Malaysia: 5.2 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBrunei: 3.65% of GDP in 2024Malaysia: 1.04% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBrunei: $560M in 2024Malaysia: $4.55B in 2025
- Military spending per personBrunei: $1,216 in 2024Malaysia: $138 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBrunei: 12.2% of government spending in 2024Malaysia: 4.4% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBrunei: 8,000 people in 2020Malaysia: 136,000 people in 2020
- National powerBrunei: 0.02% of world capability in 2022Malaysia: 0.46% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBrunei: 3.57% of the labour force in 2020Malaysia: 0.81% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBrunei: 28 million TIV in 2024Malaysia: 7 million TIV in 2024
- Arms exportsBrunei: 12 million TIV in 2016Malaysia: 20 million TIV in 2024