Fact Sheet

GENERAL

Official Name

State of Kuwait

Capital

Kuwait City

Area

17,818 sq km

Population (2021)

4.67 million

Life Expectancy (2020)

75.311 yrs

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

161.4%

Urbanization

100%

ECONOMY

Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar subdivided into 1000 Fils.
1 Kuwaiti Dinar = INR 257(approx.)

GDP

US$ 106.92 billion (2020)

GDP Growth Rate

-8.9%( 2020), 1%(2021-estimated)

GDP Per Capita(PPP)

USD 49,853.74 (Dec 2019)

Major Sectors (% of GDP)
(CY 2020)

The major sectors of Kuwaiti Economy are as follows:

• Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas and service activities incidental to oil and gas, worth USD 36.8 billion (34.5% of GDP)
• Public Administration and Defence worth of USD 16.33 billion USD (15.3% of GDP)
• Financial intermediation and insurance worth of USD 13.62 billion (12.7% of GDP)
• Other services worth of USD 12.85 billion (12% of GDP)
• Education worth of USD 8.9 billion (8.3% of GDP)
• Manufacturing worth of USD 7.07 billion (6.6% of GDP)

Unemployment

2.0% (2021)

Inflation

4.71% (April 2022)

Total Trade

Total trade in goods - US$ 98 billion (2020)

Total Trade in Services – US$ 38.14 b (2019)

Exports

US$ 40.2 billion (2020)

Imports

US$ 28.3 billion (2020)

Balance of Trade

US$ 11.9 billion (2020)

Major trading partners

Top 10 sources of Kuwaiti imports (2020)

Top 10 destinations of Kuwait’s exports (Non – oil data for 2020)

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, HH the Amir of the State of  Kuwait

Head of Government

H.H. Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad 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 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$  12.24billion (2021-22) 

Indian Exports

US$  1.24 billion (2021-22) 

Imports into India

US$  11.0 billion (2021-22) 

Major items of Export and Import from Kuwait

Exports: Crude oil & LPG, aircraft, polymers, urea, metal scrap etc.
Imports:  Cereals (esp. Basmati Rice), Ceramic Tiles, Vehicles, Jewellery, Seafoods and Marine products, Organic Chemicals, Meat, Coffee, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Machines and Mechanical appliances, Electrical and Engineering equipment etc.

Kuwait’s investments in India

Investments (predominantly through Fund managers) by Kuwait’s Sovereign Wealth Fund are over US$ 5.4 bn.

Indian Organisations

Indian PSUs viz. TCIL, New India Assurance, LIC Housing & Finance, etc have offices in Kuwait, in association with local sponsors, as per prevailing regulations.
Other Indian companies (mainly EPCs) such as L&T, Shapoorji Pallonji, Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd, TERI, WIPRO etc. have executed/are executing various projects in Kuwait.
Indian IT companies such as WIPRO, TCS, and TechMahindra also have presence in Kuwait and  executing projects for entities in the banking & financial as well as oil sectors.
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).