Fact Sheet

GENERAL

Official Name

State of Kuwait

Capital

Kuwait City

Area

17,818 sq km

Population (2021)

4.67 million

Life Expectancy

75.311

Languages

Major language (and the official language too) is Arabic; English is also widely spoken

Religions

The official religion of the State is Islam

Internet Penetration

100%

Mobile Penetration

178.5%

Urbanization

100%

ECONOMY

Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar subdivided into 1000 Fils.
1 Kuwaiti Dinar = INR 240.384 (approx)

GDP

US$ 126.19 billion (2019)

GDP Growth Rate

-1.0% (Q1 2020)

GDP Per Capita(PPP)

USD 65,515 (2018)

Major Sectors(% of GDP)

The major sector of Kuwaiti Economy are as follows.

• Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas and service activities incidental to oil and gas, worth of 66.83 billion USD(53.1%),
• Public Administration and Defence worth of 13.83 billion USD (10.99%)
• Other services worth of 12.54 billion USD(9.96%)
• Financial Intermediation worth of 10.32 billion USD(8.20%)
• Manufacturing worth of 8.76 billion USD(6.96%)
• Education worth of 5.67 billion USD(4.51%)

Unemployment

3.0% 

Inflation

0.9%

Total Trade

US$ 152.7 bn (2018) (Total trade in goods – US$ 107.8 bn; Total Trade in Services – US$ 44.9 bn)

Exports

US$ 80 billion (2018)

Imports

US$ 72.7 billion (2018)

Balance of Trade

US$ +36.1 bilion (2018)

Major trading partners

Top 10 sources of Kuwaiti imports

Top 10 destinations of Kuwait’s exports

POLITICAL

Political Structure

A hereditary constitutional monarchy with a democratic constitution, an elected National Assembly and a nominated government.  Amir is the Head of State and appoints the Prime Minister who heads the Government.

Head of State

H.H. Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,

Head of Government

H.H. Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait

Minister of Foreign Affairs

H.E. Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Minister of State of Cabinet Affairs of the State of Kuwait

Legislature

Kuwait has a National Assembly having 50 elected members. Elections are held every 4 years.

BILATERAL

Bilateral Trade

US$  10.86 billion (2019-20) 

Indian Exports

US$  1.28  billion (2019-20)

Imports into India

US$  9.57  billion (2019-20)

Major items of Export and Import

Exports: Crude oil & LPG, polymers, urea, metal scrap
Imports:  Automobiles, Industrial and Consumer Goods, Machinery, Transport Equipment, Foodstuffs

Kuwait’s investments in India

Investments (predominantly          through Fund managers) by Kuwait’s Sovereign Wealth Fund are approximately US$ 5.4 bn (July 2019 estimate).

Indian Organisations

Indian PSUs like TCIL, Insurance companies, Air India Ltd. (Air India and Air India Express) have offices in Kuwait, in association with local sponsors, as per prevailing regulations. Other major Indian companies (mainly EPCs) like L&T, Shapoorji Pallonji, Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd, TERI, WIPRO etc. are executing various projects in Kuwait. Many Indian    banks have agreements with major Exchange Houses in Kuwait to facilitate remittances into India.

Indian Community in Kuwait

Indians estimated to about 1 million (2021) constitute about one-fourth of Kuwait’s total population. There are 24 CBSE affiliated Indian schools in Kuwait with more than 50,000 students (predominantly Indian).