Brunei vs French Polynesia
Brunei is 38% larger than French Polynesia.
BruneiFrench PolynesiaBrunei moved onto French Polynesia · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
1.38×
Brunei is 1.38× the area of French Polynesia.
 Brunei |  French Polynesia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaBrunei: 1.38× the area | 5,765 km²#164 of 194 | 4,167 km² |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationBrunei: 1.65× the population | 466,330#169 of 194 · 2025 | 282,4652025 |
| DensityBrunei: 1.19× the density | 81 / km²#103 of 194 | 68 / km² |
| Urban populationBrunei: 1.21× the urban share | 75%#58 of 192 · 2025 | 62%2025 |
| Fertility rateBrunei: 1.16× the births per woman | 1.73 per woman#113 of 192 · 2024 | 1.49 per woman2024 |
| Population growthBrunei: 0.55 points higher | +0.78%#110 of 192 · 2025 | +0.23%2025 |
| Birth rateBrunei: 1.24× the birth rate | 13.3 per 1,000#104 of 192 · 2024 | 10.7 per 1,0002024 |
| Death rateBrunei: 1.39× the death rate | 5.3 per 1,000#162 of 192 · 2024 | 3.8 per 1,0002024 |
| Children under 15Brunei: 2.1 points higher | 20.6%#112 of 192 · 2025 | 18.5%2025 |
| People over 65French Polynesia: 4.7 points higher | 7.2%#99 of 192 · 2025 | 11.9%2025 |
| Net migrationBrunei: 4.2 per 1,000 higher | 0.0 per 1,000#73 of 192 · 2025 | −4.2 per 1,0002025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,0002025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyFrench Polynesia: 8.7 years longer | 75.5 years#81 of 192 · 2024 | 84.2 years2024 |
| Infant mortality | 8.6 per 1,000 births#118 of 191 · 2024 | — |
| Doctors | 1.89 per 1,000#84 of 178 · 2021 | — |
| University enrolment | 36.4%#96 of 145 · 2023 | — |
| Human Development Index | 0.837#59 of 190 · 2023 | — |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaBrunei: 1.44× the income per person | $34,790#35 of 185 · 2025 | $24,1002024 |
| GDPBrunei: 2.38× the economy | $15.03B2025 | $6.32B2024 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $92,430#8 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growthFrench Polynesia: 0.4 points higher | +0.7%#162 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%2024 |
| Inflation | −0.3%#168 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentFrench Polynesia: 2.21× the unemployment | 5.3%#83 of 178 · 2025 | 11.7%2025 |
| Jobs in agricultureFrench Polynesia: 0.7 points higher | 1.2% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 | 1.9% of jobs2025 |
| Jobs in industryBrunei: 6.1 points higher | 20.4% of jobs#74 of 178 · 2025 | 14.3% of jobs2025 |
| Jobs in servicesFrench Polynesia: 5.3 points higher | 78.4% of jobs#19 of 178 · 2025 | 83.7% of jobs2025 |
| Foreign investmentBrunei: 0.6 points higher | 0.4% of GDP#150 of 184 · 2025 | -0.2% of GDP2024 |
| ExportsBrunei: 53.3 points higher | 71.6% of GDP#22 of 168 · 2025 | 18.3% of GDP2024 |
| Military spending | 3.6% of GDP#15 of 155 · 2024 | — |
| Internet users | 96%#18 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsAbout as many mobile subscriptions | 118 per 100#87 of 191 · 2024 | 119 per 1002023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaBrunei: 1.7× the forest share | 72% of land#13 of 192 · 2024 | 42% of land2024 |
| CO₂ per personBrunei: 5.85× the CO₂ per person | 20.2 t a year#5 of 185 · 2024 | 3.46 t a year2024 |
| Renewable energyFrench Polynesia: 7.0 points higher | 0.0%#188 of 190 · 2021 | 7.0%2022 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) | 7.6 µg/m³#169 of 191 · 2023 | — |
| Protected landBrunei: 34.3 points higher | 39.9% of land#9 of 191 · 2025 | 5.6% of land2025 |
| Arable landBrunei: 0.1 points higher | 0.8% of land#173 of 190 · 2024 | 0.7% of land2024 |
| Water stress | 3.5%#135 of 176 · 2022 | — |
| Precipitation | 2,722 mm#9 of 180 · 2022 | — |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBrunei: 0.92 higher | +1.50#5 of 193 · 2025 | +0.582025 |
| Control of corruptionBrunei: 1.19 higher | +0.99#34 of 193 · 2025 | −0.202025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Territory of France |
| Government | Absolute monarchyabsolute monarchy or sultanate | Dependent territoryparliamentary democracy (Assembly of French Polynesia); an overseas collectivity of France |
| Member of | ASEAN | — |
| Capital | Bandar Seri Begawan | Papeete |
| Currency | Brunei dollar (BND) | CFP Franc (XPF) |
| Official languages | Malay, British English | French |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+8 | UTC−10 · UTC−10 to UTC−9, 3 time zones |
| Calling code | +673 | +689 |
| Region | South-Eastern Asia, Asia | Polynesia, Oceania |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Brunei sits at about 5° N and is stretched to 1.01× its true area; French Polynesia at 15° S is stretched to 1.07×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Brunei bigger than French Polynesia?
- Yes. Brunei is 38% larger than French Polynesia. Brunei covers 5,765 km² and French Polynesia covers 4,167 km².
- How many times does French Polynesia fit into Brunei?
- About 1.4 times: Brunei has 1.38× the area of French Polynesia.
- Why do Brunei and French Polynesia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Brunei is drawn about 1.01× its true area there and French Polynesia about 1.07×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Brunei or French Polynesia?
- Brunei: 466,330 people against 282,465. Density: Brunei 81 per km², French Polynesia 68 per km².
- Which is richer, Brunei or French Polynesia?
- By gross national income per person, Brunei: $34,790 against $24,100 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.44× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Brunei or French Polynesia?
- In French Polynesia: life expectancy at birth is 84.2 years, against 75.5 — 8.7 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Brunei and French Polynesia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Brunei: absolute monarchy; French Polynesia: dependent territory.