Kuwait: Gas Half Full
Kuwait is enjoying high hydrocarbon prices, but the lack of reforms weighs heavily on the oil-rentier’s economic outlook.
Kuwait GDP and Economic Data
Country Report 2017 - Includes Kuwait real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Kuwait economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Kuwait best banks and safest banks are also available.
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International Reserves
USD 40.3 billion (2018)
International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 141.1 billion (2018, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 306.4 billion (2018, estimate)
Real GDP growth
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
| 6% | 2.5% | -7.1% | -2.4% | 9.6% | 6.6% | 1.2% |
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* | ||
| 0.5% | 0.6% | 2.9% | -3.5% | 1.7% |
*Estimate
GDP per capita - current prices
USD 30,839.2 (2018, estimate)
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2019* |
| 0.36% | 0.20% | 0.23% | 0.25% | 0.23% |
*Estimate
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 0.4%
- industry: 58.7%
- services: 40.9%
(2017 estimate)
Inflation
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 3.7% | 3.5% | 1.5% | 0.6% | 1.5% |
*Estimate
Unemployment rate
| 2015* | 2016* | 2017* | 2018* | 2019* |
| 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% |
*Estimate
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* | 2019* |
| 4.7% | 10% | 20.7% | 14.7% | 15.2% |
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017* | 2018* | 2019* |
| 5.6% | 0.3% | 6.3% | 8.7% | 6.7% |
*Estimate
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: AA
Moody's: Aa2
Standard & Poor's / Moody's
Source
Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
Largest companies
National Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Finance House, Zain, Kuwait Projects
Source
Source
Current account balance by percentage of GDP
14.4 % (2018 estimate)
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
50.4% (2017)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.37% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export
0.13% (2018)
Export commodities
Oil and refined products, fertilizers
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Import commodities
Food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing
Exports - major partners
South Korea 18.3%, China 17.4%, Japan 11.5%, India 11.2%, Singapore 6.3%, US 5.7%(2017)
Imports - major partners
China 13.5%, US 13.3%, UAE 9.5%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, Germany 5.4%, Japan 5%, India 4.7%, Italy 4.5% (2017)
FDI inflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 149 million | USD 348 million | USD 346 million |
FDI outflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 4,528 million | USD 9,013 million | USD 3,751 million |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 729.3 million | USD 376.3 million | USD 145.5 million | USD -4.5 million |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking:
83 out of 190 countries
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 82 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 68 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 66 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 45 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 119 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 51 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 6 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 162 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 74 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 115 out of 190 countries
Source
Global competitiveness ranking
46 out of 141 countries
(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 90 / Score: 60.8 (Moderately free)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
Source
Source
Religions
Muslim (official) 74.6%, Christian 18.2%, other and unspecified 7.2% (2013 est.)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020* |
| 2.13 million | 2.22 million | 3.58 million | 4.18 million | 4.83 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2015 |
| 74.9% | 94.8% | 99% | 100% |
Literacy
Total population: 96%
Male: 96.7%
Female: 94.8%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2017 est.)
Freedom House rating
Partly Free
Political Rights: 5
Civil Liberties: 5 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 12.5% Mobile: 178.6% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)