country profile

Brunei Darussalam

East Asia & PacificHigh income466K population

Last updated August 4, 2026

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Progressing readiness

Composite GEFRI Score

Access & Parity is strong, but Innovation lags

Brunei Darussalam shows progressing readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (71st percentile worldwide). Reforms are translating into broader capability, though uneven performance continues to slow system-wide alignment.

71.24Composite score
Global percentile
71st
Global rank
#52
Regional rank
#8
Viewing data for
Advanced readiness
Infrastructure
87.06
75th percentileGlobal avg. 70.44
Progressing readiness
Human Capital
69.76
47th percentileGlobal avg. 66.18
Emerging readiness
Innovation
45.53
47th percentileGlobal avg. 48.64
Progressing readiness
Governance
61.64
75th percentileGlobal avg. 47.07
Target achieved
Access & Parity
92.18
76th percentileGlobal avg. 60.85

Country profile

Brunei Darussalam shows progressing readiness, with important strengths but continued gaps across the system. Most dimension scores sit close to global norms, without a single dimension standing far above the rest.

Uneven scores across dimensions show where readiness conditions are less aligned. High internet adoption enables broad participation in digital learning and innovation. Limited tertiary enrollment narrows future talent pipelines and innovation capacity.

Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.

Innovation presents a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning. Regionally, Brunei Darussalam leads most clearly in School Access and Gender Parity, sitting well above the peer average.

Some indicators are imputed, so the profile should be read with moderate caution.

Key insights

Sits above the global median at the 71st percentile.

Places 52nd worldwide.

Holds a regional position of 8th within East Asia & Pacific.

Scores range from Access & Parity (92.2) to Innovation (45.5), reflecting variation across dimensions.

Leads regional peers most clearly in Access & Parity.

Regional peers: East Asia & Pacific

Composite GEFRI Score

Global rankRegional rankCountryScore
71Singapore87.75
82Korea, Rep.87.61
93Australia87.58
124Japan86.42
145New Zealand86.25
166Hong Kong SAR, China85.13
PalauMicrostate73.62
NauruMicrostate72.35
517Thailand71.65
528Brunei Darussalam71.24
GuamMicrostate70.43
569China70.26
New CaledoniaMicrostate69.53
American SamoaMicrostate69.29
5910Malaysia69.27
Northern Mariana IslandsMicrostate69.27
6511Macao SAR, China68.91
6612Fiji68.84
7013Mongolia68.44
French PolynesiaMicrostate67.53
7414Indonesia67.24
7515Viet Nam67.00
TongaMicrostate62.06
SamoaMicrostate61.69
9116Philippines60.80
TuvaluFCSMicrostate59.38
Marshall IslandsFCSMicrostate56.13
10917Vanuatu54.76
KiribatiFCSMicrostate49.99
11818Timor-LesteFCS47.72
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.FCSMicrostate47.06
12419Cambodia44.53
12520Korea, Dem. People's Rep.44.29
13521Solomon IslandsFCS40.40
14222MyanmarFCS37.14
14323Lao PDR36.90
15624Papua New GuineaFCS31.85