Tutong District

Tutong District occupies the middle ground between oil-rich Belait and capital Brunei-Muara—geographically transitional, economically peripheral to the petroleum infrastructure that defines both neighbors. The district's 53,000 residents (11% of national population) work in agriculture, fishing, and forestry in a sultanate where most citizens are employed directly or indirectly by the government. Tutong town's main landmark is the Istana Edinburg, a former British Resident's house that recalls the colonial period when Brunei ceded most of its territory to Sarawak and became a protectorate (1888-1984). The district produces rice, vegetables, and poultry for domestic consumption—a food security buffer in a nation that imports most goods and lacks agricultural tradition. With Brunei's GDP per capita at $33,470 (2024) but concentrated in petroleum and the capital, Tutong represents the diversification challenge: what economic activity can substitute when oil declines? Unlike Belait's extraction or Brunei-Muara's downstream processing, Tutong offers mainly land and labor—resources the sultanate struggles to deploy productively. By 2026, the district's development depends on whether agricultural modernization and Halal food export initiatives can create employment outside the government sector.