Quality of life comparison
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Brunei, you would:
Health
live 7.6 years longer
In Brunei, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 83 years (82 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.
be 14.7% less likely to be obese
In Brunei, 37.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 31.6% of people as of 2024.
see 96.6% more spent on your healthcare
Brunei spends $1,896 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). United Arab Emirates spends $3,727 as of 2023.
have 58.6% more doctors per person
Brunei has 18.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. United Arab Emirates has 29.9 as of 2023.
be 43.9% less likely to die by suicide
Brunei has a suicide rate of 3.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In United Arab Emirates, it is 1.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 58.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Brunei, 5.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
make 56.0% more money
Brunei has a GDP per capita of $32,235 as of 2025, while in United Arab Emirates, the GDP per capita is $50,274 as of 2024.
Life
be 91.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Brunei, approximately 36.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In United Arab Emirates, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 55.8% 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 United Arab Emirates, on the other hand, 3.8 children do as of 2024.
have 26.3% fewer children
In Brunei, there are approximately 13.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, there are 9.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.2 times more on healthcare
Brunei spends 2.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 8.2 times more coastline
Brunei has a total of 161 km of coastline. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 1,318 km.
Safety
be 63.9% more likely to die in a road accident
In Brunei, road accidents kill 3.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In United Arab Emirates, they kill 5.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 92.8% more home broadband
Brunei has 21.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. United Arab Emirates has 40.8 as of 2024.
use 43.2% more electricity
Brunei uses 10,674 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. United Arab Emirates uses 15,285 kWh as of 2023.
live with 435.1 times more strain on fresh water
Brunei withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. United Arab Emirates withdraws 1510% as of 2022.
Environment
be 3.5 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Brunei, air pollution causes 20.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In United Arab Emirates, it causes 70.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Brunei vs. United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: At a glance
How big is United Arab Emirates compared to Brunei? See an in-depth size comparison.