The Department of Economic Planning and Statistics, DEPS, Ministry of Finance and Economy has released the Report of the Preliminary Count of Total Population 2021 which presents the data of total population and key demographic characteristics of Brunei Darussalam’s population in 2021. The preliminary count is based on the results from the First Stage: House listing and the Second Stage: e-Census of the Population and Housing Census 2021.
In 2021, the total population was 429,999 people, comprising 226,102 males and 203,897 females. Brunei Muara District had the highest population with 310,786 people. Followed by Belait District with 62,243 people. Tutong District with 47,601 people, and Temburong District with 9,369 people. By age distribution, 16.3 per cent of the total population were below 12 years, 8.8 per cent were between 12 to 17 years, 64.9 per cent were in the age group of 18 to 59, and 10.1 per cent were aged 60 and over.
Locals, comprising Brunei Citizens and Permanent Residents, accounted for the largest share of 82.2 per cent, while Non-locals accounted for 17.8 per cent. Compared to the estimated total population of 453,600 people in 2020, the total population in 2021 recorded a decline due to the decrease in the number of foreign workers. This was following the travel restrictions, specifically on the entry of foreigners to Brunei Darussalam during the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from that, a number of foreign workers have left the country as their contracts had expired and so on.
This preliminary count is subject to further revisions after all the BPP 2021 census operations are completely undertaken. The Third Stage of BPP 2021 will be resumed from end October until December 2021 through alternative approaches to replace the face-to face interviews. The Report of the Preliminary Count of Total Population 2021 is available from the DEPS website.
Source: Radio Television Brunei