Kuwait

Capital: Kuwait

Local time:
It is %T:%M %A in Kuwaït City

Exchange rate on :

GDP growth rate: 4.830% in 2012

FDI inward stock: 940 million USD in 2007

Country risk: See the country risk analysis from Kuwait provided by Ducroire.

Economic trends

Kuwait is a rich country with a high per capita income of about 30,000 USD. Its GDP has experienced a growth rate of more than 20% during the past five years. The country has 9% of the world oil reserves.  Kuwait is promoting to place itself as the entrance door to investors who want to work in the area. The public sector dominates the economy. It represents three fourths of GDP. The government is currently trying to transfer the 95% of Kuwaitis who work for the government from the public sector to the private sector.

Kuwait was affected by the financial crisis of 2008 and the central bank had to provide its help to one of the main banks of Kuwait which was experiencing cash shortage. The country's income has also dropped at the end of 2008 due to the fall of oil prices. The country's most popular sectors have been hurt by this crisis too.

Main branches of industry

Agriculture activity is very limited due to lack of water and arable land. Agriculture contributes less than 1% to GDP.
Industry in Kuwait is based on oil exploitation: this sector represents more than half of GDP and more than 90% of exports.
The non-oil sector is dominated by services.
For further information, consult the "Doing Business in Kuwait" guide by the National Bank of Kuwait.

International trade

Kuwait is highly dependent on foreign trade. The share of foreign trade in the country’s GDP is nearly 95%. The amount of Kuwait's imports totals 16 billion USD. The country depends heavily on imports in foodstuffs, consumer goods (40% of total) and intermediate products (38% of total).
Kuwait’s largest suppliers are Germany, the United States and Saudi Arabia.  Imports from other Gulf countries have increased since the introduction of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council).
Kuwait’s exports represent 56 billion USD. Exports of crude oil and refined products account for 95% of total exports. The remaining consists of re-exports, mainly machinery and transportation equipment.
The trade balance of Kuwait is largely positive due to the high prices of oil.