Kuwait skyline at goldenhour

Kuwait Economy

Kuwait's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 183 billion in 2022.

GDP per capita of USD 37,603 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 1.3% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2020, services accounted for 54% of overall GDP, manufacturing 7%, other industrial activity 39%, and agriculture 0%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 41% of GDP in 2019, government consumption 25%, fixed investment 25%, and net exports 9%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2020, manufactured products made up 6% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 93%, food 1%, ores and metals 0% and agricultural raw materials 0%, with other categories accounting for 0% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 75% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 0%, food 20%, ores and metals 2% and agricultural raw materials 0%, with other goods accounting for 3% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 100 billion in 2022, while total imports were USD 28 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 0.7% in the decade to 2020. To read more about GDP growth in Kuwait, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

Kuwait's fiscal deficit averaged 0.8% of GDP in the decade to 2020. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 2.5% in the decade to 2022. For more information on Kuwait's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 2.6% in the decade to 2022. Go to our Kuwait inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

Kuwait's monetary policy rate ended 2022 at 3.50%, up from 2.00% a decade earlier. See our Kuwait monetary policy page for additional details.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2012 to end-2022 the dinar stayed on the same level vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the dinar, click here.
The economy is forecast to have roughly flatlined in 2023. OPEC+ cuts led to a 4.1% annual decline in oil output last year; this likely broadly offset a solid expansion in the non-oil sector, which will have benefited from strong employment growth and the expansion of operations at the Al Zour refinery. In contrast, soft real estate activity and slowdowns in business and household credit growth amid higher interest rates will have capped non-oil growth. In politics, the government recently presented the draft FY 2024 (April 2024 to March 2025) budget. The budget pencils in declines in both revenue and expenditure relative to the FY 2023 budget and an over-11%-of-GDP fiscal deficit. That said, our panelists expect a much smaller deficit given the government’s more conservative oil price assumption relative to that of our panelists.
Projections out to 2033.

44 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 23 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Kuwait in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2033 on 44 economic indicators for Kuwait from a panel of 23 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the Kuwait economy. To download a sample report on the Kuwait's economy, click here . To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page .

Kuwait Economic Data

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Population (million) 4.6 4.8 4.7 4.8 4.9
GDP (USD bn) 138 136 106 142 183
GDP per capita (USD) 29,884 28,490 22,643 29,752 37,603
GDP (KDW bn) 41.7 41.3 32.4 42.8 56.0
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) 14.0 -0.9 -21.5 31.8 30.9
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) 2.4 -0.6 -8.9 7.7 6.1
Economic Growth (GDP Oil, ann. var. %) 2.4 -1.0 -8.9 -0.9 12.1
Domestic Demand (ann. var. %) 4.4 2.2 - - -
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 4.0 2.3 - - -
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) 6.3 7.7 - - -
Total Investment (ann. var. %) 3.4 -2.6 - - -
Exports (G&S, ann. var. %) -0.4 -10.1 - - -
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) 1.5 -10.4 - - -
Oil Production (mn barrels per day, aop) 2.75 2.69 2.44 2.41 2.70
Unemployment (% of active population, aop) 2.2 2.2 3.3 2.8 2.5
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) -3.1 -9.5 -33.2 -7.0 11.5
Public Debt (% of GDP) 15.1 11.6 11.7 8.7 2.9
Money (ann. var. of M2 %) 4.0 -1.3 2.7 -7.4 6.5
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, aop) 0.6 1.1 2.1 3.4 4.0
Discount Rate (%, eop) 3.00 2.75 1.50 1.50 3.50
Exchange Rate (KWD per USD, eop) 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.31
Current Account Balance (USD bn) 25.7 32.6 22.1 34.9 63.1
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) 18.6 24.0 20.9 24.6 34.5
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) 46.4 35.3 15.4 40.5 71.9
Merchandise Exports (USD bn) 77.0 64.7 40.1 68.4 100.3
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) 30.6 29.4 24.8 27.9 28.4
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) 39.0 -16.0 -38.0 70.4 46.6
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) 3.8 -4.0 -15.7 12.4 1.8
Foreign Direct Investment (USD bn) 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.8
International Reserves (USD bn) 37.1 39.9 48.2 45.0 48.0
International Reserves (months of imports) 14.5 16.3 23.3 19.4 20.3

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