Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in New Caledonia instead of Brunei, you would:

Health

live 3.4 years longer

In Brunei, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024. In New Caledonia, that number is 79 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.

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Economy

be 2.1 times more likely to be unemployed

In Brunei, 5.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In New Caledonia, that number is 11.2% as of 2025.

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Basic Needs

be 14.8% less likely to have internet access

In Brunei, approximately 96.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In New Caledonia, about 82.0% do as of 2021.

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Geography

see 14.0 times more coastline

Brunei has a total of 161 km of coastline. In New Caledonia, that number is 2,254 km.

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Environment

emit 15.6% less CO2

Brunei emits 20.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. New Caledonia emits 17.1 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2024–2025), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this

Compare further: Brunei vs. New Caledonia

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
New Caledonia is 65.8% more expensive than Brunei overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
Brunei is about 3.2 times smaller than New Caledonia.
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Moving from Brunei to New Caledonia · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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New Caledonia: At a glance

New Caledonia is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 18,275 sq km. Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island became a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct a referendum between 2014 and 2018 to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence.
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How big is New Caledonia compared to Brunei? See an in-depth size comparison.

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