Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Brunei instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:
Health
live 3.5 years less
In Saudi Arabia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (77 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Brunei, that number is 76 years (73 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024.
see 45.4% less spent on your healthcare
Saudi Arabia spends $3,475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Brunei spends $1,896 as of 2023.
have 44.6% fewer doctors per person
Saudi Arabia has 34.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Brunei has 18.9 as of 2021.
be 3.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Saudi Arabia has a suicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Brunei, it is 3.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 73.7% more likely to be unemployed
In Saudi Arabia, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Brunei, that number is 5.3% as of 2025.
Life
be 5.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Saudi Arabia, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Brunei, 36.0 women do as of 2023.
be 83.0% more likely to die during infancy
In Saudi Arabia, approximately 4.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Brunei, on the other hand, 8.6 children do as of 2024.
have 19.2% fewer children
In Saudi Arabia, there are approximately 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Brunei, there are 13.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 60.8% less on healthcare
Saudi Arabia spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Brunei, that number is 2.2% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 93.9% less coastline
Saudi Arabia has a total of 2,640 km of coastline. In Brunei, that number is 161 km.
Safety
be 80.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Saudi Arabia, road accidents kill 18.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Brunei, they kill 3.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 99.6% less strain on fresh water
Saudi Arabia withdraws 974% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Brunei withdraws 3% as of 2022.
find 51.9% less home broadband
Saudi Arabia has 44.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Brunei has 21.2 as of 2024.
use 10.4% less electricity
Saudi Arabia uses 11,911 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Brunei uses 10,674 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 78.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Saudi Arabia, air pollution causes 91.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Brunei, it causes 20.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Saudi Arabia vs. Brunei
Brunei: At a glance
How big is Brunei compared to Saudi Arabia? See an in-depth size comparison.