Report by the WTO Secretariat

Brunei Darussalam is a small, relatively open economy in which trade and foreign direct investment play vital roles. With one of Asia’s highest per capita incomes,of US$30,000, Brunei owes its prosperity mainly to its abundant petroleum (oil and natural gas) resources, whose share of GDP grew from 53% in 2002 to 69% in 2006, and whose share of exports rose from 88% to 96% during the same period, largely due to the sharp rise in oil and gas prices. Nonetheless, between 2002 and 2006, the economy grew at a rather modest annual average real rate of 2.5%, which is insufficient to generate enough jobs for Brunei’s growing labour force. As a result, official estimates put unemployment at some 4% in 2006, a cause for concern among Bruneians. Overall, inflation has remained subdued at around 1%, generally moving in line with price trends in Singapore because of the currency peg to the Singapore dollar. Inflation is somewhat repressed, however, by the price controls and subsidies with respect to essential food items and petrol.