Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Thailand instead of Brunei, you would:
Health
live 1.1 years longer
In Brunei, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 77 years (72 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
be 55.8% less likely to be obese
In Brunei, 37.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 16.4% of people as of 2024.
see 43.7% less spent on your healthcare
Brunei spends $1,896 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Thailand spends $1,067 as of 2023.
have 71.3% fewer doctors per person
Brunei has 18.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Thailand has 5.4 as of 2021.
be 5.4 times more likely to die by suicide
Brunei has a suicide rate of 3.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Thailand, it is 16.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 85.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Brunei, 5.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Thailand, that number is 0.8% as of 2025.
make 75.0% less money
Brunei has a GDP per capita of $32,235 as of 2025, while in Thailand, the GDP per capita is $8,057 as of 2025.
Life
be 10.5% 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 Thailand, on the other hand, 7.7 children do as of 2024.
have 39.1% fewer children
In Brunei, there are approximately 13.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Thailand, there are 8.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.0 times more on healthcare
Brunei spends 2.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Thailand, that number is 4.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 20.0 times more coastline
Brunei has a total of 161 km of coastline. In Thailand, that number is 3,219 km.
Safety
be 9.6 times more likely to be murdered
Brunei has a homicide rate of 0.5 per 100,000 people as of 2013. In Thailand, that number is 4.8 per 100,000 as of 2011.
be 7.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Brunei, road accidents kill 3.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Thailand, they kill 25.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 29.7% less home broadband
Brunei has 21.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Thailand has 14.9 as of 2024.
live with 6.6 times more strain on fresh water
Brunei withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Thailand withdraws 23% as of 2022.
use 72.2% less electricity
Brunei uses 10,674 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Thailand uses 2,965 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 80.4% less CO2
Brunei emits 20.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Thailand emits 4.0 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 Thailand, it causes 29.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2011–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Brunei vs. Thailand
Thailand: At a glance
How big is Thailand compared to Brunei? See an in-depth size comparison.