Economy overview: Brunei’s small, prosperous economy is a mix of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and patriarchal traditions. Exports of crude oil and natural gas account for over half of GDP. Brunei’s GDP per capita is substantially higher than most other Third World countries, and significant foreign investment supplements income from domestic production. The government pays for all medical services and subsidizes the purchase of rice and housing. Brunei’s leaders are concerned that the steadily expanding integration into the world economy will disrupt the internal unity of the nation, however, the country seeks to play a more significant role: for example, Brunei hosted the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum in 2000. See businesscarriers.com to know more about Brunei Economics and Business. GDP: Purchasing Power Parity $5.9 billion (2000 est.) Real GDP growth rate: 3% (2000 ET). GDP per capita: PPP $17,600 (2000 est.) The composition of GDP by sectors of the economy: agriculture: 5%; industry: 46%; services: 49% (1996 est.). Proportion of the population below the poverty line: no data available. Percentage distribution of household income or consumption: for the poorest 10% of households: n/a; by top 10% of households: no data. Inflation rate at consumer prices: 1% (1999 OC). Work force: 144 000 people (est. 1995); note – including foreign workers and military personnel; note: temporary residents of the country make up 41% of the labor force (1991). Employment structure: civil service 48%, oil, natural gas, services and construction 42%, agriculture, forestry and fishing 10% (1999 est.). Unemployment rate: 4.9% (1995 est.). Budget: revenues: $2.5 billion; expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.35 billion (1997 est.). Spheres of economy: oil production, oil refining, natural gas liquefaction, construction. Growth in industrial production: 4% (1997 est.). Electricity generation: 2.445 billion kWh (1999) Sources of electricity generation: fossil fuel: 100%; hydropower: 0%; nuclear fuel: 0%; others: 0% (1999). Electricity consumption: 2.274 billion kWh (1999) Electricity export: 0 kWh (1999). Electricity import: 0 kWh (1999). Agricultural products: rice, cassava (tapioca), bananas; buffaloes. Exports: $2.55 billion (free on board, 1999 est.) Exports: crude oil, liquefied natural gas, petroleum products. Export partners: Japan 42%, USA 17%, South Korea 14%, Thailand 3% (1999). Imports: $1.3 billion (S.I.F., 1999 est.) Imports: machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, chemicals. Import partners: Singapore 34%, UK 15%, Malaysia 15%, US 5% (1999). External debt: $0. Economic aid recipient: $4.3 million (1995) Economic aid donor: Currency: Brunei dollar. Currency code: BND. Exchange rate: BND / USD – 1.7365 (January 2001), 1.7240 (2000), 1.6950 (1999), 1.6736 (1998), 1.4848 (1997), 1.4100 (1996); note – the Brunei dollar is equal to the Singapore dollar. Fiscal year: calendar year.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications Telephone lines: 79,000 (1996). Mobile cellular telephones: 43,524 (1996). Telephone system: excellent communication within the country; good international connection with Europe, USA and East Asia; internal: no data; international: satellite earth stations – 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean); digital communications via submarine cable with Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines (2001). Broadcast stations: AM -3, FM -10, shortwave – 0 (1998). Radio receivers: 329,000 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997). TVs: 201,900 (1998). Internet country code: bn Internet service providers: 2 (2000). Number of users: 28,000 (2001).
Transport
Transport Railways: total: 13 km (private line); narrow gauge: 13 km (0.610 m gauge). Roads: total: 1,712 km; coated: 1,284 km; unpaved: 428 km (1996 est.). Waterways: 209 km; suitable for boats with a draft of less than 1.2 m. Pipelines: for crude oil: 135 km; for oil products: 418 km; for natural gas: 920 km. Ports and harbors: Bandar Seri Begawan, Kuapa Belait, Muara, Seria, Tutong. Merchant fleet: total: 7 vessels (displacement of 1,000 tons or more) with a total displacement of 348,476 gross register tons / 340,635 long tons of gross tonnage; vessels of different types: liquefied gas tankers – 7 (2000 est.). Airports: 2 (2000 est.). Airports with paved runways: total: 1; over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.). Airports with unpaved runways: total: 1; from 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2000 est.). Helipads: 3 (2000 est.).
Armed Forces
Branches of the Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Royal Brunei Police. Enlistment age: 18 years old. Total Military Manpower: Male 15 to 49: 106,725 (2001 est.). Eligible for military service: males aged 15 to 49: 61,640 (2001 est.). Number of persons reaching military age each year: male: 3,005 (2001 est.). Military spending in dollar terms: $343 million (1998) Military spending as part of GDP: 5.1% (1998).
International Issues
International issues International disputes: possibly involved in a tangled dispute with China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam over the Sprat-ly Islands; in 1984, Brunei established the boundaries of its exclusive fishing zone, which included Louise Reef in the south of the Sprat Pea Islands, but did not officially put forward claims to this island. Illicit drugs: Drug trafficking and illegal importation of psychotropic drugs are considered serious crimes in Brunei and are punishable by death.
