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Kuwait: Economic and Political Outline

Economic Indicators | Foreign Trade in Figures | Sources of General Economic Information | Political Outline

Economic Indicators

Kuwait is a rich country, a welfare state financed by oil revenues (52% of the GDP and (93% of exports in 2011), to benefit inhabitants with a high per capita income of about 30,000 USD. The country has 9% of the world oil reserves and in 2011 registered, for the twelfth consecutive year, a budget surplus estimated at around 19.5 miliard USD. Kuwait is trying to position itself as the entrance gate for investment in the area. The public sector dominates the economy and concentrates three quarters of the country's wealth. In February 2010, a 2010-2015 plan to develop infrastructure has been signed, worth USD 100 billion, with the special aim of opening the country's economy to the private sector.

Thanks to the increases in the price per barrel of oil, whcih reached an average of 110 USD, and the increase in production, Kuwait's financial health in the coming years is guaranteed, with budget surpluses of about 10 to 20%. The country grew by 5.7% in 2011.

The income from the country's oil allows to fuel a particularly generous welfare system (automatic access to public employment, artificial maintenance of public prices and prices of basic products at a very low level, high subsidies for home-buyers, generous medical insurance, etc.)

Despite its economic and financial health, Kuwait wants to move from a rentier economy to a more open and diverse economy. The authorities are also concerned about the enlarged public sector, built on and funded by oil revenues, the limits of which are already being felt in terms of job creation and investment.

Main Indicators	2009	2010	2011	2012 (e)	2013 (e)
GDP (billions USD)	109.46e	132.57	171.07e	176.63	188.05
GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change)	-5.2e	3.4e	5.7e	4.5	5.1
GDP per Capita (USD)	31,411	37,009e	46,461	46,670	48,342
General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP)	12.9	10.4	8.1	7.7	7.1
Inflation Rate (%)	4.0	4.1	6.2	3.4	3.2
Unemployment Rate (% of the Labor Force)	1.6	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1
Current Account (billions USD)	25.88e	36.88	57.23e	53.62	55.03
Current Account (in % of GDP)	23.6e	27.8e	33.5e	29.3	-

Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database ; World Bank , Last Available Data

Note: (e) Estimated Data

Main Sectors of Industry

Agriculture activity is very limited due to lack of water and arable land. Agriculture contributes only 2% to GDP.

With 100 billion barrels of oil in reserve (i.e. 9% of the world's total and representing 100 years of production), the country's industry is based on oil exploitation. Income from this sector represents more than half of GDP and more than 90% of exports, i.e. more than 95% of the country's income. By 2030, Kuwait is also planning to invest more than USD 87 billion in the oil sector, especially in creating new oil refineries.

The non-oil sector is dominated by services, mostly real estate and financial services, which were relatively hit by the financial crisis.

For further information, consult the "Doing Business in Kuwait" guide by the National Bank of Kuwait.

Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector	Agriculture	Industry	Services
Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment)	2.7	20.6	76.0
Value Added (in % of GDP)	0.5	51.0	48.5
Value Added (Annual % Change)	8.8	16.7	17.9

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

Find more information about your business sector on our service Market reports.

Monetary Indicators	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD	0.29	0.28	0.27	0.29	0.29

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

Find out all the exchange rates daily on our service Currency converter.

Learn more about Market Analyses about Kuwait on Globaltrade.net, the Directory for International Trade Service Providers.

Indicator of Economic Freedom

Score:: 64.9/100
Position:: Moderately free
World Rank:: 57/179
Regional Rank:: 8/17

Distribution of Economic freedom in the world
Source: 2011 Index of Economic freedom, Heritage Foundation

Note: The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.

Country Risk

See the Country Risk Analysis Provided By Ducroire.

Foreign Trade in Figures

Kuwait is highly dependent on foreign trade, which represents nearly 95% of the GDP. The country depends particularly on imports of foodproducts, consumer goods (40% of the total) and semi-finished products (38% of the total), which ranks it among countries with the highest per capita import rate. The imports have been increasingly quickly due to the country’s undertaking of large projects and a high private consumption demand.

Representing almost all export earnings of the country and almost two-thirds of the GDP in 2012, the Kuwaiti oil is sold mostly to Asian countries. Significant reserves of non-associated gas were discovered in the north of the country. Their exploitation, due to start shortly, should cover the needs of local consumption (power generation, desalination of sea water ...) and generate a portion of oil production for export.

Kuwait’s largest suppliers are the United States, China, Saudi Arabia and Germany. Imports from other Gulf countries have increased since the introduction of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). The main products imported are cars, agricultural and food products, as well as mechanical industrial products, electric and electronic products.

Kuwait’s exports quadrupled since 2002. Exports of crude oil and refined products accounted for 93% of the total in 2011. The remaining amount consists of re-exports, mainly of machinery and transportation equipment. Kuwait’s main clients are the Asian countries, especially Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China but also the United States and India. The trade balance of Kuwait is largely positive due to the high prices of oil.

Foreign Trade Indicators	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Imports of Goods (million USD)	21,362	24,840	20,341	22,000	25,300
Exports of Goods (million USD)	62,691	87,457	51,937	65,950	98,100
Imports of Services (million USD)	10,494	12,404	11,297	12,260	-
Exports of Services (million USD)	9,104	10,358	10,425	7,137	-
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP)	28.3	25.7	28.0	-	-
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP)	63.4	66.1	56.4	-	-
Trade Balance (million USD)	42,564	64,004	34,390	47,908	-
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD)	40,234	60,387	-	-	-
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP)	91.7	91.8	84.4	-	-

Source: WTO - World Trade Organization ; World Bank , Last Available Data

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers (% of Exports)	2009
China	2.2%
United Arab Emirates	1.1%
Saudi Arabia	0.9%
India	0.6%
Turkey	0.4%
Jordan	0.4%
United States	0.3%
Qatar	0.3%
Indonesia	0.3%
Bahrain	0.3%
Iraq	0.3%
Pakistan	0.2%
France	0.2%
Iran	0.2%
Syria	0.2%
Hong Kong	0.2%
Egypt	0.2%
Germany	0.1%
Oman	0.1%
United Kingdom	0.1%
See More Countries	94.8%

Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data

Main Products

Main Exports (% of Exports)	2009
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude	57.1%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals	30.1%
Polymers of ethylene, in primary formsPolymers of ethylene, in primary forms	4.2%
Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbonsPetroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons	3.0%
Parts of aircraft and spacecraft of heading 8801...Parts of aircraft and spacecraft of heading 8801 or 8802, n.e.s.	0.8%
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702)	0.8%
Mineral or chemical nitrogenous fertilizers (excl....Mineral or chemical nitrogenous fertilizers (excl. those in pellet or similar forms, or in packages with a gross weight of <= 10 kg)	0.4%
Motor vehicles for the transport of goods, incl....Motor vehicles for the transport of goods, incl. chassis with engine and cab	0.3%
Parts suitable for use solely or principally with...Parts suitable for use solely or principally with transmission and reception apparatus for radio-telephony, radio-telegraphy, radio-broadcasting, television, television cameras, still image video cameras and other video camera recorders, radar apparatus, radio navigational aid apparatus or radio remote control apparatus, n.e.s.	0.2%
Insulated "incl. enamelled or anodised" wire,...Insulated "incl. enamelled or anodised" wire, cable "incl. coaxial cable" and other insulated electric conductors, whether or not fitted with connectors; optical fibre cables, made-up of individually sheathed fibres, whether or not assembled with electric conductors or fitted with connectors	0.2%
Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of...Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal (excl. articles > 100 years old)	0.2%
Polymers of propylene or of other olefins, in...Polymers of propylene or of other olefins, in primary forms	0.2%
Ferrous waste and scrap; remelting scrap ingots of...Ferrous waste and scrap; remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel (excl. slag, scale and other waste from the production of iron or steel; radioactive waste and scrap; fragments of pigs, blocks or other primary forms of pig iron or spiegeleisen)	0.1%
Glass fibres, incl. glass wool, and articles...Glass fibres, incl. glass wool, and articles thereof (excl. mineral wools and articles thereof, optical fibres, fibre bundles or cable, electrical insulators or parts thereof, brushes of glass fibres, dolls' wigs)	0.1%
See More Products	4.7%

Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data

See More Products: More imports (Intracen Data)
More exports (Intracen Data)

To go further, check out our service Import export flows.

Sources of General Economic Information

Ministries: Ministry of Finance (in Arabic)
Statistical Office: Statistic and Census Sector, Minstry of Planning
Central Bank: Central Bank of Kuwait
Stock Exchange: Kuwait Stock Exchange
Search Engines: Aiwagulf
Kuwait Links
Economic Portals: Economic Arab portal

Political Outline

Executive Power: The chief of state is the Emir, a hereditary title. The Emir has absolute executive power including dissolving parliament, promulgating laws, referring bills back to the parliament for reconsideration, and appointing military officers. The Emir appoints the Prime Minister, who acts as the head of the government for an indefinite period of time. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the Prime Minister, after being approved by the Emir. The Emir has the power to dissolve parliament but must call anticipated elections within 60 days.
Legislative Power: The legislative power in Kuwait is unicameral. The parliament, called National Assembly, has 50 members which are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The parliament has the power to dismiss the Prime Minister or any other members of his cabinet by going through a series of constitutional procedures. The people of Kuwait enjoy limited political rights.
Main Political Parties: Formation of political parties is banned in the country, but political groupings like parliamentary blocs have been allowed to emerge.
Current Political Leaders: Emir: Sheikh SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since January 2006)
Prime Minister: Sheikh NASIR al-Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since February 2006)
Next Election Dates: National Assembly: in 2014
Parliamentary: 2012

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

World Rank:: 78/179
Evolution:: 10 places up compared to 2010

Source: Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2011, Reporters Without Borders

Note: The world rankings, published annually, measures the violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position is assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire sent to partner organizations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and activists of human rights, including the main criteria - 44 in total - to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

Indicator of Political Freedom

Ranking:: Partly Free
Political Freedom:: 4/7
Civil Liberties:: 4/7

Map of freedom 2010
Source: Freedom House

Note: The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

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