Kuwait

Kuwait: Country Intelligence Briefing

Kuwait's fact bundle shows a high-income Gulf hydrocarbon economy with low government debt, substantial reserves, a high defense-spending ratio, and a governance profile V-Dem v15 scores low on electoral and liberal democracy but considerably higher on state capacity.

Economy and Fiscal Position

GDP was $160.2 billion in 2024, with GDP per capita of $32,717.72 the same year, both per World Bank WDI. Population was 4,897,263 in 2024, per World Bank WDI. Government debt stood at 22.3 percent of GDP in 2026, per IMF WEO — among the lowest debt ratios in this briefing series — and reserves were $50.7 billion in 2024, per World Bank WDI.

Defense Posture

Military expenditure reached $8.09 billion in 2025, per SIPRI Milex, equivalent to 4.688 percent of GDP under SIPRI's own GDP series for 2025 — a ratio that should not be checked against the separately sourced World Bank GDP figure above. Active personnel stood at 18,000 in 2022, per COW NMC, with a CINC score of 0.0019764984 the same year, also per COW NMC.

Governance

V-Dem v15 scores Kuwait's electoral democracy at 0.138 and liberal democracy at 0.127 for 2025, with a markedly higher state capacity score of 0.691 the same year.

Energy

Kuwait's energy figures are current and substantial. Primary energy consumption was 1.8901 exajoules in 2024, and electricity generation was 92.49 terawatt-hours in 2025, both per Our World in Data (Energy). Oil production was 1,520.714 terawatt-hours and gas production was 149.182 terawatt-hours, both for 2024, per Our World in Data (Energy), reflecting Kuwait's position as a major oil producer.

Data Gaps

The active-personnel and CINC figures are from 2022, three years old relative to this briefing. The milex-to-GDP ratio of 4.688 percent is computed against SIPRI's own 2025 GDP series and should not be recalculated against the World Bank's separately sourced 2024 GDP figure cited above. No other series in this bundle show notable staleness; the energy, debt, and reserves figures are all dated 2024 or 2025.

Sources: World Bank WDI; IMF WEO; SIPRI Milex; COW NMC; V-Dem v15; Our World in Data (Energy).