Brunei Economy 1997

Economy - overview This small, wealthy economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship,government regulation and welfare measures, and village tradition. It is almosttotally supported by exports of crude oil and natural gas, with revenues fromthe petroleum sector accounting for perhaps half of GDP. Per capita GDP isamong the highest in the Third World, and substantial income from overseasinvestment supplements income from domestic production. The government providesfor all medical services and subsidizes food and housing. The government isbeginning to show progress on its basic policy of diversifying the economyaway from oil and gas. Brunei's leaders are concerned that steadily increasedintegration in the world economy will undermine internal social cohesion.

GDP purchasing power parity - $4.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 2% (1995 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $15,800 (1995 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture : 3%
industry: 46%
services: 51% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 2.5% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 119,000 (1993 est.); note - includes members of the Army
by occupation: government 48%, production of oil, natural gas, services, and construction42%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 4%, other 6% (1986 est.)
note : 33% of labor force is foreign (1988)

Unemployment rate 4.8% (1994 est.)

Budget
revenues: $2.5 billion
expenditures : $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $768 million (1995 est.)

Industries petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas, construction

Industrial production growth rate 2% (1995 est.)

Electricity - capacity 344,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production 1.24 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita 4,003 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products rice, cassava (tapioca), bananas; water buffalo, pigs

Exports
total value : $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: crude oil, liquefied natural gas, petroleum products
partners: Japan 50%, UK 19%, Thailand 10%, Singapore 9% (1994 est.)

Imports
total value: $2 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
commodities : machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals
partners: Singapore 29%, UK 19%, US 13%, Malaysia 9%, Japan 5% (1994 est.)

Debt - external $0

Economic aid $NA

Currency 1 Bruneian dollar (B$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates Bruneian dollars (B$) per US$1 - 1.4061 (January 1997), 1.4100 (1996),1.4174 (1995), 1.5274 (1994), 1.6158 (1993), 1.6290 (1992); note - the Bruneiandollar is at par with the Singapore dollar

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Brunei on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Brunei Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Brunei Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.