Matchup file

Brunei vs Malaysia

103 shared metrics.

BruneiLeads in 43

vs103 shared

MalaysiaLeads in 60

Turn the comparison into a round

Think you can spot the next winner?

Malaysia leads by 17 metrics. Use the same instinct in a quick real-data brawl.

Play this matchup Biggest Gaps

Country briefing

What matters for both sides

Short real-world notes so the comparison reads like more than a stat strip.

Brunei

Quick notes before you compare the numbers.

Identity

Formal name: Brunei Darussalam.

CIA 2026

Curated stat

Burundi remains overwhelmingly rural, so urban-population rounds can be surprisingly low.

World Bank

Malaysia

Quick notes before you compare the numbers.

Identity

Name origin: devised in the early 19th century by British geographers.

CIA 2026

Curated stat

Malaysia is split by the South China Sea: one part on the Malay Peninsula, another on Borneo.

Britannica

Analysis

Malaysia leads in 60 of 103 shared metrics, while Brunei leads in 43.

Brunei's Current Account Balance (% of GDP) is 7.6x that of Malaysia (13.7% of GDP vs 1.6% of GDP).

Brunei's Military Spending is 2.6x that of Malaysia (3.6% of GDP vs 0.99% of GDP).

Brunei's Energy Use (Per Capita) is 2.3x that of Malaysia (9.5K kg oil eq/person vs 2.9K kg oil eq/person).

Brunei's CO2 Per Capita is 2.2x that of Malaysia (26.05 t/person/yr vs 8.2 t/person/yr).

Brunei's GNI Per Capita is 2.1x that of Malaysia ($36,020 vs $11,650).

Key Comparisons

Current Account Balance (% of GDP)Brunei leads

Brunei

13.7% of GDP

Malaysia

1.6% of GDP

Military SpendingBrunei leads

Brunei

3.6% of GDP

Malaysia

0.99% of GDP

Energy Use (Per Capita)Brunei leads

Brunei

9.5K kg oil eq/person

Malaysia

2.9K kg oil eq/person

CO2 Per CapitaBrunei leads

Brunei

26.05 t/person/yr

Malaysia

8.2 t/person/yr

GNI Per CapitaBrunei leads

Brunei

$36,020

Malaysia

$11,650

Protected Land (%)Brunei leads

Malaysia

Brunei

2.0

Malaysia

883

100% lower

Shipping Traffic

Malaysia

Brunei

106.2K

Malaysia

27.29M

100% lower

Irrigated Land

Malaysia

Brunei

10 km²

Malaysia

4.4K km²

100% lower

Brunei

44.43% of firms

Malaysia

22.32% of firms

99% higher

Foreign Patents

Malaysia

Brunei

137

Malaysia

6.7K

98% lower

Air Passengers

Malaysia

Brunei

820.9K

Malaysia

46.70M

98% lower

Forest Area

Malaysia

Brunei

3.8K km²

Malaysia

189.6K km²

98% lower

Land Area

Malaysia

Brunei

5.3K km²

Malaysia

328.6K km²

98% lower

Comparison of Brunei and Malaysia across 103 metrics
				Winner
Current Account Balance (% of GDP)	13.7% of GDP	1.6% of GDP	756% higher	Brunei
Military Spending	3.6% of GDP	0.99% of GDP	262% higher	Brunei
Energy Use (Per Capita)	9.5K kg oil eq/person	2.9K kg oil eq/person	233% higher	Brunei
CO2 Per Capita	26.05 t/person/yr	8.2 t/person/yr	219% higher	Brunei
GNI Per Capita	$36,020	$11,650	209% higher	Brunei
Protected Land (%)	39.9%	13.3%	200% higher	Brunei
Milk Consumption per Person	70.47 kg/person/yr	25.28 kg/person/yr	179% higher	Brunei
GDP Per Capita (PPP)	$89,879.36	$38,779.28	132% higher	Brunei
Electricity Use (Per Capita)	11.2K kWh/person	5.0K kWh/person	125% higher	Brunei
Domestic Patents	2.0	883	100% lower	Malaysia
Shipping Traffic	106.2K	27.29M	100% lower	Malaysia
Irrigated Land	10 km²	4.4K km²	100% lower	Malaysia
Official Languages Count	2.0	1.0	100% higher	Brunei
Population	491.9K	34.91M	99% lower	Malaysia
Water Withdrawal	0.09 B m³	6.7 B m³	99% lower	Malaysia
Firms Hit by Power Outages	44.43% of firms	22.32% of firms	99% higher	Brunei
Foreign Patents	137	6.7K	98% lower	Malaysia
Air Passengers	820.9K	46.70M	98% lower	Malaysia
Forest Area	3.8K km²	189.6K km²	98% lower	Malaysia
Land Area	5.3K km²	328.6K km²	98% lower	Malaysia
Scientific Publications	414.38	26.5K	98% lower	Malaysia
Airports	2.0	100	98% lower	Malaysia
High-Tech Exports (%)	1.1%	58.63%	98% lower	Malaysia
Electric Generating Capacity	904.0K kW	37.22M kW	98% lower	Malaysia
Coastline Length	161 km	4.7K km	97% lower	Malaysia
Total CO2 Emissions	9.4 Mt CO2e	295.95 Mt CO2e	97% lower	Malaysia
Electricity Generation	5.6 TWh	198.22 TWh	97% lower	Malaysia
GDP (Nominal)	$15,340,808,592.48	$422,227,005,428.69	96% lower	Malaysia
Government Debt (% GDP)	2.8% of GDP	64.3% of GDP	96% lower	Malaysia
Hospital Beds (per 1,000)	3.9 per 1k	2.0 per 1k	95% higher	Brunei
FDI Inflows (% GDP)	0.19% of GDP	3.7% of GDP	95% lower	Malaysia
Merchant Fleet Size	97	1.8K	94% lower	Malaysia
Armed Forces Personnel	8.0K	136.0K	94% lower	Malaysia
Solar Electricity Share	0.18%	2.2%	92% lower	Malaysia
Agricultural Land (%)	2.5%	26.09%	90% lower	Malaysia
Land Border Length	266 km	2.7K km	90% lower	Malaysia
Capital Elevation	14 m	66 m	79% lower	Malaysia
Tourist Arrivals	1.07M	4.33M	75% lower	Malaysia
Road Traffic Death Rate	3.6 per 100k	13.9 per 100k	74% lower	Malaysia
Firms Making Informal Payments	8.2% of firms	4.9% of firms	68% higher	Brunei
Border Neighbors	1.0	3.0	67% lower	Malaysia
Beer Consumption	0.82 L/person/yr	0.51 L/person/yr	61% higher	Brunei
Women in Senior Management	36.43% of managers	23.22% of managers	57% higher	Brunei
Coal Electricity Share	19.78%	44.56%	56% lower	Malaysia
Highest Elevation	1.9K m	4.1K m	55% lower	Malaysia
Broadband Access (%)	20 per 100 people	13 per 100 people	54% higher	Brunei
Youth Unemployment Rate	18.23% of youth labor force	11.95% of youth labor force	53% higher	Brunei
Air Pollution (PM2.5)	7.6 µg/m³	16.19 µg/m³	53% lower	Malaysia
Health Spending (% GDP)	1.8% of GDP	3.9% of GDP	53% lower	Malaysia
Firms with Female Top Manager	37.93% of firms	25.54% of firms	49% higher	Brunei
Electricity Carbon Intensity	892.09 gCO2/kWh	601.97 gCO2/kWh	48% higher	Brunei
Suicide Rate	3.0 per 100k	5.7 per 100k	46% lower	Malaysia
Obesity Rate	32.38%	22.4%	45% higher	Brunei
Health Spending Per Capita	$665.87	$458.22	45% higher	Brunei
Teen Birth Rate	8.5 per 1k	6.0 per 1k	43% higher	Brunei
ATMs per 100,000 Adults	73.1 per 100k	51.84 per 100k	41% higher	Brunei
Unemployment Rate	5.1%	3.8%	34% higher	Brunei
Death Rate	4.0 per 1k	5.8 per 1k	32% lower	Malaysia
Alcohol Consumption	0.51 L/adult/yr	0.74 L/adult/yr	31% lower	Malaysia
Researchers	506.18 per 1M	711.51 per 1M	29% lower	Malaysia
Smoking Rate	16.4%	22%	25% lower	Malaysia
Forest Coverage (%)	72.11%	57.72%	25% higher	Brunei
Insufficient Physical Activity	30.62% of adults	40.6% of adults	25% lower	Malaysia
Food Waste per Person	157.19 kg/person/yr	209.53 kg/person/yr	25% lower	Malaysia
Corruption Perceptions Index	63 pts	52 pts	21% higher	Brunei
Infant Mortality	8.2 per 1k births	6.8 per 1k births	21% higher	Brunei
GDP Growth Rate	4.1%	5.1%	21% lower	Malaysia
McDonald's Outlets per Million PeopleSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors - Open Database License (ODbL)	12.2 per 1M people	10.11 per 1M people	21% higher	Brunei
Population Density	87.09 /km²	106.91 /km²	19% lower	Malaysia
Doctors (per 1,000)	1.9 per 1k	2.3 per 1k	19% lower	Malaysia
Child Mortality	9.4 per 1k births	8.1 per 1k births	16% higher	Brunei
Mobile Subscriptions (%)	118 per 100 people	140 per 100 people	16% lower	Malaysia
Tobacco Use Prevalence	14.3% of adults	16.9% of adults	15% lower	Malaysia
Women in Parliament (%)	11.76%	13.51%	13% lower	Malaysia
Firms Asked for Bribes	3.3% of firms	3.8% of firms	13% lower	Malaysia
Minimum Paid Vacation Days	7.0 days/yr	8.0 days/yr	12% lower	Malaysia
Hypertension Prevalence	45.9% of adults	41% of adults	12% higher	Brunei
Imports (% GDP)	58.32% of GDP	66.02% of GDP	12% lower	Malaysia
Birth Rate	15.58 per 1k	14.05 per 1k	11% higher	Brunei
Elderly Population (%)	6.9%	7.7%	11% lower	Malaysia
Dependency Ratio	38.3% of working-age pop.	41.89% of working-age pop.	9% lower	Malaysia
Median Age	31.8 years	30.1 years	6% higher	Brunei
Water Stress (%)	1.1%	1.2%	6% lower	Malaysia
University Enrollment Rate	36.42%	38.5%	5% lower	Malaysia
Average Weekly Work Hours	46.29 hrs/week	44.7 hrs/week	4% higher	Brunei
Exports (% GDP)	74.27% of GDP	71.34% of GDP	4% higher	Brunei
Sanitation Access (%)	100%	96.02%	4% higher	Brunei
Youth Population (%)	20.83%	21.79%	4% lower	Malaysia
Urban Population (%)	74.9%	76.92%	3% lower	Malaysia
Human Development Index	0.84	0.82	2% higher	Brunei
Life Expectancy	75.3 years	76.7 years	2% lower	Malaysia
Internet Users (%)	99%	98.02%	1% higher	Brunei
Spirits Consumption	0 L/person/yr	0.11 L/person/yr	ranked lower	Malaysia
Time Zones Count	2.0 time zones	2.0 time zones	equal	Brunei
Wind Electricity Share	0%	0%	ranked higher	Brunei
Electricity Access (%)	100%	100%	equal	Brunei
Renewable Energy (%)	0%	7.5%	ranked lower	Malaysia
Inflation Rate	-0.4%	1.8%	ranked lower	Malaysia
Fertility Rate	1.7 children/woman	1.7 children/woman	equal	Brunei
Nobel Laureates Born per Million People	0 per 1M people	0 per 1M people	ranked higher	Brunei
Lowest Elevation	0 m	0 m	ranked higher	Brunei
UNESCO World Heritage Sites	0 sites	6.0 sites	ranked lower	Malaysia
EV Chargers per 100,000 PeopleSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors - Open Database License (ODbL)	0 per 100k people	0.59 per 100k people	ranked lower	Malaysia

Build a Matchup

Country A

Country B

Next move

Pick the next country or jump back in.

Play this matchup

Brunei Malaysia

Analysis

Malaysia leads in 60 of 103 shared metrics, while Brunei leads in 43.

Brunei's Current Account Balance (% of GDP) is 7.6x that of Malaysia (13.7% of GDP vs 1.6% of GDP).

Brunei's Military Spending is 2.6x that of Malaysia (3.6% of GDP vs 0.99% of GDP).

Brunei's Energy Use (Per Capita) is 2.3x that of Malaysia (9.5K kg oil eq/person vs 2.9K kg oil eq/person).

Brunei's CO2 Per Capita is 2.2x that of Malaysia (26.05 t/person/yr vs 8.2 t/person/yr).

Brunei's GNI Per Capita is 2.1x that of Malaysia ($36,020 vs $11,650).

Key Comparisons

Current Account Balance (% of GDP)Brunei leads

Brunei

13.7% of GDP

Malaysia

1.6% of GDP

Military SpendingBrunei leads

Brunei

3.6% of GDP

Malaysia

0.99% of GDP

Energy Use (Per Capita)Brunei leads

Brunei

9.5K kg oil eq/person

Malaysia

2.9K kg oil eq/person

CO2 Per CapitaBrunei leads

Brunei

26.05 t/person/yr

Malaysia

8.2 t/person/yr

GNI Per CapitaBrunei leads

Brunei

$36,020

Malaysia

$11,650

Protected Land (%)Brunei leads

Brunei

39.9%

Malaysia

13.3%

Current Account Balance (% of GDP)

13.7% of GDP

1.6% of GDP

Military Spending

3.6% of GDP

0.99% of GDP

Energy Use (Per Capita)

9.5K kg oil eq/person

2.9K kg oil eq/person

CO2 Per Capita

26.05 t/person/yr

8.2 t/person/yr

GNI Per Capita

$36,020

$11,650

Protected Land (%)

39.9%

13.3%

Milk Consumption per Person

70.47 kg/person/yr

25.28 kg/person/yr

GDP Per Capita (PPP)

$89,879.36

$38,779.28

Electricity Use (Per Capita)

11.2K kWh/person

5.0K kWh/person

Domestic Patents

2.0

883

Shipping Traffic

106.2K

27.29M

Irrigated Land

10 km²

4.4K km²

Official Languages Count

2.0

1.0

Population

491.9K

34.91M

Water Withdrawal

0.09 B m³

6.7 B m³

Firms Hit by Power Outages

44.43% of firms

22.32% of firms

Foreign Patents

137

6.7K

Air Passengers

820.9K

46.70M

Forest Area

3.8K km²

189.6K km²

Land Area

5.3K km²

328.6K km²

Brunei vs Malaysia

Think you can spot the next winner?

What matters for both sides

Brunei

Malaysia

Analysis

Key Comparisons

All Metrics

Current Account Balance (% of GDP)

Military Spending

Energy Use (Per Capita)

CO2 Per Capita

GNI Per Capita

Protected Land (%)

Milk Consumption per Person

GDP Per Capita (PPP)

Electricity Use (Per Capita)

Domestic Patents

Shipping Traffic

Irrigated Land

Official Languages Count

Population

Water Withdrawal

Firms Hit by Power Outages

Foreign Patents

Air Passengers

Forest Area

Land Area

Scientific Publications

Airports

High-Tech Exports (%)

Electric Generating Capacity

Coastline Length

Total CO2 Emissions

Electricity Generation

GDP (Nominal)

Government Debt (% GDP)

Hospital Beds (per 1,000)

FDI Inflows (% GDP)

Merchant Fleet Size

Armed Forces Personnel

Solar Electricity Share

Agricultural Land (%)

Land Border Length

Capital Elevation

Tourist Arrivals

Road Traffic Death Rate

Firms Making Informal Payments

Border Neighbors

Beer Consumption

Women in Senior Management

Coal Electricity Share

Highest Elevation

Broadband Access (%)

Youth Unemployment Rate

Air Pollution (PM2.5)

Health Spending (% GDP)

Firms with Female Top Manager

Electricity Carbon Intensity

Suicide Rate

Obesity Rate

Health Spending Per Capita

Teen Birth Rate

ATMs per 100,000 Adults

Unemployment Rate

Death Rate

Alcohol Consumption

Researchers

Smoking Rate

Forest Coverage (%)

Insufficient Physical Activity

Food Waste per Person

Corruption Perceptions Index

Infant Mortality

GDP Growth Rate

McDonald's Outlets per Million People

Population Density

Doctors (per 1,000)

Child Mortality

Mobile Subscriptions (%)