Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Maldives instead of Brunei, you would:
Health
live 5.8 years longer
In Brunei, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024. In Maldives, that number is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024.
be 51.8% less likely to be obese
In Brunei, 37.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Maldives, that number is 17.9% of people as of 2024.
see 20.7% more spent on your healthcare
Brunei spends $1,896 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Maldives spends $2,288 as of 2023.
have 18.5% more doctors per person
Brunei has 18.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Maldives has 22.4 as of 2019.
be 51.8% less likely to die by suicide
Brunei has a suicide rate of 3.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Maldives, it is 1.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
have 21.8% less access to essential health services
Brunei scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Maldives scores 61 as of 2021.
Economy
be 14.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Brunei, 5.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Maldives, that number is 4.5% as of 2025.
make 54.7% less money
Brunei has a GDP per capita of $32,235 as of 2025, while in Maldives, the GDP per capita is $14,615 as of 2025.
Life
be 45.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Brunei, approximately 8.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Maldives, on the other hand, 4.7 children do as of 2024.
have 20.6% fewer children
In Brunei, there are approximately 13.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Maldives, there are 10.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 11.5% less likely to have internet access
In Brunei, approximately 96.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Maldives, about 85.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 4.1 times more on healthcare
Brunei spends 2.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Maldives, that number is 9.2% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 4.0 times more coastline
Brunei has a total of 161 km of coastline. In Maldives, that number is 644 km.
Safety
be 63.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In Brunei, road accidents kill 3.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Maldives, they kill 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 4.5 times more strain on fresh water
Brunei withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Maldives withdraws 16% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 82.4% less CO2
Brunei emits 20.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 45.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Brunei, air pollution causes 20.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Maldives, it causes 29.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Brunei vs. Maldives
Maldives: At a glance
How big is Maldives compared to Brunei? See an in-depth size comparison.