Moving to Bandar Seri Begawan

In our series of short blogs on moving between different international locations, we highlight cost of living and other major differences likely to be experienced.
Today we look at moving to Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei from Brussels in Belgium.
In Brussels people speak Dutch (local variant called Flemish), French and German. In Bandar Seri Begawan people speak Malay, English and Chinese.

Brussels is the de facto capital city of the European Union (EU) and the largest urban area in Belgium.
Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Brunei.
Serving as the centre of administration for Europe, Brussels' economy is largely service-oriented. It is dominated by regional and world headquarters of multinationals, by European institutions, by various administrations, and by related services, though it does have a number of notable craft industries, such as the Cantillon Brewery, a lambic brewery founded in 1900.
Bandar Seri Begawan produces furniture, textiles, handicrafts, and timber.

The overall cost of living rank in Brussels is 45 out of 300 global locations, which equates it with high cost of living locations. An expatriate moving from Brussels to Bandar Seri Begawan which has an overall cost of living rank of 152, which equates it with middle cost of living locations, will experience a change in cost of living of -19.4%.
In terms of the hardship people are likely to experience, assessed in global terms, Bandar Seri Begawan is ranked as a high degree of hardship location with a hardship index of 30% compared to Brussels with a hardship index of 10% which is a minimal hardship location.

Source: http://www.xpatulator.com as at July 2011.

Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan - Cost of Living

The economy of Brunei is small but wealthy with a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition. Crude oil and natural gas production account for nearly half of its GDP. Substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production.


Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Brunei. The city produces furniture, textiles, handicrafts, and timber.
Bandar Seri Begawan has an overall cost of living index which equates it with middle cost of living locations. The overall cost of living index is comprised of the prices for defined quantities of the same goods and services across all 13 Basket Groups.


The latest cost of living rank for each of the 13 Basket Groups is now available.
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Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan Cost of Living April 2010

Country Full Name: Sultanate of Brunei.

Location: Brunei is in Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia.

Country Climate: Tropical; hot, humid, rainy.

Country Terrain: Flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland in west.

Major Languages: Malay, English, Chinese.

Major Religions: Islam, Buddhism, Christianity.

Country Population: 0.393 million (2008 est.) 0.401 million (2009 est.).

Country Economy: The economy of Brunei is small but wealthy with a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition. Crude oil and natural gas production account for nearly half of its GDP. Substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production.

Currency: Brunei Dollar (BND).

Country Inflation: 2.7% (2008 est.) 1.2% (2009 est.).

City: Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Brunei.

City Economy: The city produces furniture, textiles, handicrafts, and timber.

Cost of Living: Bandar Seri Begawan has an overall cost of living index which equates it with low cost of living locations. The overall cost of living index is comprised of the prices for defined quantities of the same goods and services across all 13 Basket Groups. Bandar Seri Begawan is currently ranked 215 overall, most expensive place in the world for expatriates to live, out of 282 international locations.

For more cost of living information on Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan