Kuwait Facts, Map, Population, GDP

Capital

Kuwait City

Population

3,172,511 (2025 est.)

Area

17,818 sq km

Location

Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia

🧭 Background

Kuwait has been ruled by the AL-SABAH dynasty since the 18th century. The threat of Ottoman invasion in 1899 prompted Amir Mubarak AL-SABAH to seek protection from Britain, ceding foreign and defense responsibility to Britain until 1961, when the country attained its independence. Iraq attacked and overran Kuwait in 1990. After several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault in 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. In 1992, the Amir reconstituted the parliament that he had dissolved in 1986. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs known as Bidoon staged small protests demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Other demographic groups, notably Islamists and Kuwaitis from tribal backgrounds, soon joined the growing protest movements, which culminated with the resignation of the prime minister amid allegations of corruption. Demonstrations renewed in 2012 in response to a decree amending the electoral law that lessened the voting power of the tribal blocs. An opposition coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribal populists, and some liberals largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013, which ushered in a legislature more amenable to the government's agenda. Faced with the prospect of painful subsidy cuts, oppositionists and independents actively participated in the 2016 election, winning nearly half the seats, but the opposition became increasingly factionalized. Between 2006 and his death in 2020, the Amir dissolved the National Assembly on seven occasions and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government. The current Amir, who assumed his role in 2020, launched a "National Dialogue" in 2021 meant to resolve political gridlock. As part of this initiative, the Amir pardoned several opposition figures who had been living in exile, and they returned to Kuwait. Legislative challenges remain, and the cabinet has been reshuffled six times since 2020.

🗺️ Geography

Location

Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates

29 30 N, 45 45 E

Map references

Middle East

Area — total

17,818 sq km

Area — land

17,818 sq km

Area — water

0 sq km

Area - comparative

Slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries — total

475 km

Land boundaries — border countries

Iraq 254 km; Saudi Arabia 221 km

Coastline

499 km

Maritime claims — territorial sea

12 nm

Climate

Dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters

Terrain

Flat to slightly undulating desert plain

Elevation — highest point

3.6 km W. of Al-Salmi Border Post 300 m

Elevation — lowest point

Persian Gulf 0 m

Elevation — mean elevation

108 m

Natural resources

Petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas

Land use — agricultural land

8.4% (2023 est.)

Land use — agricultural land: arable land

Arable land: 0.4% (2023 est.)

Land use — agricultural land: permanent crops

Permanent crops: 0.3% (2023 est.)

Land use — agricultural land: permanent pasture

Permanent pasture: 7.6% (2023 est.)

Land use — forest

0.4% (2023 est.)

Land use — other

91.2% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land

100 sq km (2015)

Major watersheds (area sq km) — Indian Ocean drainage

(Persian Gulf) Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)

Major aquifers

Arabian Aquifer System

Population distribution

Densest settlement is along the Persian Gulf, particularly in Kuwait City and on Bubiyan Island; significant population threads extend south and west along highways that radiate from the capital, particularly in the southern half of the country

Natural hazards

Sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year but are most common between March and August

Geography - note

Strategic location at head of Persian Gulf

👥 People and Society⬆️ Top

Population — total

3,172,511 (2025 est.)

Population — male

1,827,274

Population — female

1,345,237

Nationality — noun

Kuwaiti(s)

Nationality — adjective

Kuwaiti

Ethnic groups

Kuwaiti 30.4%, other Arab 27.4%, Asian 40.3%, African 1%, other 0.9% (includes European, North American, South American, and Australian) (2018 est.)

Languages — Languages

Arabic (official), English widely spoken

Languages — major-language sample(s)

كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Muslim (official) 74.6%, Christian 18.2%, other and unspecified 7.2% (2013 est.)

Age structure — 0-14 years

23% (male 376,415/female 346,190)

Age structure — 15-64 years

73.4% (male 1,386,349/female 917,465)

Age structure — 65 years and over

3.6% (2024 est.) (male 47,778/female 64,158)

Dependency ratios — total dependency ratio

36 (2025 est.)

Dependency ratios — youth dependency ratio

30.9 (2025 est.)

Dependency ratios — elderly dependency ratio

5.1 (2025 est.)

Dependency ratios — potential support ratio

19.7 (2025 est.)

Median age — total

30.4 years (2025 est.)

Median age — male

31.1 years

Median age — female

28.9 years

Population growth rate

1.07% (2025 est.)

Birth rate

17.36 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Death rate

2.3 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Net migration rate

-4.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Population distribution

Densest settlement is along the Persian Gulf, particularly in Kuwait City and on Bubiyan Island; significant population threads extend south and west along highways that radiate from the capital, particularly in the southern half of the country

Urbanization — urban population

100% of total population (2023)

Urbanization — rate of urbanization

1.35% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

3.298 million KUWAIT (capital) (2023)

Sex ratio — at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

Sex ratio — 0-14 years

1.09 male(s)/female

Sex ratio — 15-64 years

1.51 male(s)/female

Sex ratio — 65 years and over

0.74 male(s)/female

Sex ratio — total population

1.36 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

8 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate — total

7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

Infant mortality rate — male

7.4 deaths/1,000 live births

Infant mortality rate — female

6.9 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth — total population

79.6 years (2024 est.)

Life expectancy at birth — male

78.1 years

Life expectancy at birth — female

81.1 years

Total fertility rate

2.19 children born/woman (2025 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

1.07 (2025 est.)

Drinking water source — improved: urban

Urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Drinking water source — improved: total

Total: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Drinking water source — unimproved: urban

Urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Drinking water source — unimproved: total

Total: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Health expenditure — Health expenditure (as % of GDP)

5.8% of GDP (2021)

Health expenditure — Health expenditure (as % of national budget)

9.4% of national budget (2022 est.)

Physician density

2.27 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

2.4 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

Sanitation facility access — improved: urban

Urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access — improved: total

Total: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access — unimproved: urban

Urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access — unimproved: total

Total: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

37.9% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita — total