| Economy in greater depth | | | | that 2% of GDP in 2001 on sliding oil prices. |
| Kuwait is one of the richest countries in the Muslim | | | | The government's two reserve funds: the Fund for |
| world. Current GDP per capita reached astonishing | | | | Future Generations and the General Reserve Fund, |
| peak growth of 439% in the 1970s. But this proved | | | | which totalled nearly $100 billion prior to the invasion |
| unsustainable and contracted by 58% in the 1980s. | | | | in 1990, were the primary source of capital for the |
| However rising global oil demand helped register | | | | Kuwaiti Government during the war. While these |
| growth of 91% in the 1990s. Diversification is a | | | | funds were depleted to $40-$50 billion after the war, |
| long-term issue for this over-exposed economy. | | | | they currently are estimated around $208 billion. The |
| Macro-economic trend | | | | bulk of this reserve is invested in the United States, |
| This is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of | | | | Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and |
| Kuwait at market prices estimated by the | | | | Southeast Asia. In order of importance, foreign |
| International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of | | | | assets are believed to be invested in stocks and |
| Kuwaiti Dinars. | | | | bonds, fixed yield instruments (mostly short term), |
| Year | | | | and real estate. Kuwait follows a generally |
| Gross Domestic Product | | | | conservative investment policy. |
| US Dollar Exchange | | | | Kuwait has been a major source of foreign economic |
| Inflation Index | | | | assistance to other states through the Kuwait Fund |
| (2000=100) | | | | for Arab Economic Development, an autonomous |
| Per Capita Income | | | | state institution created in 1961 on the pattern of |
| (as % of USA) | | | | Western and international development agencies. In |
| 1980 | | | | 1974, the fund's lending mandate was expanded to |
| 7,764 | | | | include all not just Arab developing countries. |
| 0.27 Kuwaiti Dinars | | | | Over the years aid was provided to Egypt, Syria, and |
| 55 | | | | Jordan, as well as the Palestine Liberation |
| 171.08 | | | | Organization. During the Iran-Iraq war, significant |
| 1985 | | | | Kuwaiti aid was given to the Iraqis. The Kuwait Fund |
| 6,450 | | | | issued loans and technical assistance grants totaling |
| 0.29 Kuwaiti Dinars | | | | over $520 million during its fiscal year ending 30 June |
| 68 | | | | 2000. |
| 71.58 | | | | The stock market capitalisation of listed companies in |
| 1990 | | | | Kuwait was valued at $130,080 million in 2005 by the |
| 5,328 | | | | World Bank. |
| 0.29 Kuwaiti Dinars | | | | Other statistics |
| 80 | | | | Investment (gross fixed): 6.6% of GDP (2005 est.) |
| 37.00 | | | | Household income or consumption by percentage |
| 1995 | | | | share:lowest 10%: NAhighest 10%: NA |
| 8,114 | | | | Agriculture - products: practically no crops; fish |
| 0.29 Kuwaiti Dinars | | | | Industrial production growth rate: -5% (2002 est.) |
| 92 | | | | Electricity:production: 38.19 billion kWh |
| 62.14 | | | | (2003)consumption: 35.52 billion kWh (2003)exports: 0 |
| 2000 | | | | kWh (2002)imports: 0 kWh (2002) |
| 11,570 | | | | Electricity - production by source:fossil fuel: |
| 0.30 Kuwaiti Dinars | | | | 100%hydro: 0%other: 0% (2001)nuclear: 0% |
| 100 | | | | Oil:production: 2.418 million bbl/day (2005 |
| 48.92 | | | | est.)consumption: 400,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)exports: |
| 2005 | | | | 2.57 million barrel/day (2008)imports: NAproved |
| 21,783 | | | | reserves: 105.0 billion barrel (2005 est.), including the |
| 0.29 Kuwaiti Dinars | | | | divided zone. |
| 108 | | | | Natural gas:production: 8.3 billion cu m (2003 |
| 64.35 | | | | est.)consumption: 8.3 billion cu m (2003 est.)exports: 0 |
| For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US | | | | m (2002 est.)imports: 0 m (2002 est.)proved |
| Dollar is exchanged at 0.48 Kuwaiti Dinars only. | | | | reserves: 1.572 trillion cu m (2005) |
| Average wages in 2007 hover around $4,250 per | | | | Current account balance: $31.51 billion (2005 est.) |
| month for Kuwaitis. As for skilled and experienced | | | | Exports - commodities: oil and refined products, |
| non-Kuwaiti (Engineers, Doctors, and Managers) the | | | | fertilizers |
| average monthly salary is hiked up tremendously, to | | | | Imports - commodities: food, construction materials, |
| an average of $10,000+ a month excluding living and | | | | vehicles and parts, clothing |
| other benefits. Please, also keep in mind that Kuwait | | | | Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $9.296 |
| is a tax free country so all the above figures reflect | | | | billion (2005 est.) |
| actual take home numbers. | | | | Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.3014 |
| Kuwait is a small country with massive oil reserves, | | | | (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001), |
| whose economy has been traditionally dominated by | | | | 0.3068 (2000) |
| the state and its oil industry. During the 1970s, Kuwait | | | | See also |
| benefited from the dramatic rise in oil prices, which | | | | Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development |
| Kuwait actively promoted through its membership in | | | | Kuwait Investment Authority |
| the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries | | | | References |
| (OPEC). The economy suffered from the triple shock | | | | ^ GDP: GDP per capita, current US dollars |
| of a 1982 securities market crash, the mid-1980s | | | | ^ Select Country or Country Groups |
| drop in oil prices, and the 1990 Iraqi invasion and | | | | External links |
| occupation. The Kuwaiti Government-in-exile | | | | Kuwait Investment Authority |
| depended upon its $100 billion in overseas | | | | Kuwait Investment Office |
| investments during the Iraqi occupation in order to | | | | Kuwait Economic Development at the Open Directory |
| help pay for the reconstruction. Thus, by 1993, this | | | | Project |
| balance was cut to less than half of its pre-invasion | | | | Tax Articles, Kuwait Economy Review |
| level. The wealth of Kuwait is based primarily on oil | | | | Tax Articles, "The Tax System and Accounting |
| and capital reserves, and the Iraqi occupation | | | | Principles in Kuwait At a Glance" |
| severely damaged both. | | | | Deletionpedia, Companies of Kuwaitv d e |
| In the closing hours of the Persian Gulf War in | | | | Kuwait |
| February 1991, the Iraqi occupation forces set ablaze | | | | Subdivisions |
| or damaged 749 of Kuwait's oil wells. All of these | | | | Terminology |
| fires were extinguished within a year. Production has | | | | Coat of arms |
| been restored, and refineries and facilities have been | | | | History |
| modernized. Oil exports surpassed their pre-invasion | | | | Timeline History of Kuwait |
| levels in 1993 with production levels only constrained | | | | Law |
| by OPEC quotas. | | | | Courts Nationality Legislation |
| Oil | | | | Politics |
| Main article: Oil industry of Kuwait | | | | Government Legislature Emir Prime Minister |
| In 1934, the ruler of Kuwait granted an oil concession | | | | Departments Constitution Elections Parties |
| to the Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC), jointly owned by the | | | | Foreign relations |
| Anglo-Persian Oil Company (later British Petroleum | | | | Geography |
| Company) and Gulf Oil Corp. In 1976, the Kuwaiti | | | | Geology Mountains Lakes Rivers |
| Government nationalized KOC. The following year, | | | | Economy |
| Kuwait took over onshore production in the Divided | | | | History Kuwait Stock Exchange Kuwaiti dinar |
| Zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. KOC | | | | Banks (Central Bank of Kuwait) Taxation |
| produces jointly there with Texaco, Inc., which, by its | | | | Transport Communications Energy |
| 1984 purchase of Getty Oil Co., acquired the Saudi | | | | Military |
| Arabian onshore concession in the Divided Zone. | | | | History Navy National Police Coast Guard |
| In the Offshore Divided Zone, the Arabian Oil Co. | | | | Military Kuwait Air Force Weapons of mass |
| 80% owned by Japanese interests and 10% each by | | | | destruction |
| the Kuwaiti and Saudi Governments has produced on | | | | Demography |
| behalf of both countries since 1961. The original | | | | Demographics Languages Religion Cities Towns |
| concession agreements will expire in January 2003; | | | | Culture |
| negotiations to replace the concession with a | | | | Art Cinema Cuisine Education Literature |
| technical service agreement should be completed in | | | | Media Music Sport Television Public holidays |
| 2002. | | | | Portal Topicsv d e |
| The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. (KPC), an | | | | Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries |
| integrated international oil company, is the parent | | | | (OPEC) |
| company of the government's operations in the | | | | Algeria Angola Ecuador Iran Iraq Kuwait |
| petroleum sector, and includes Kuwait Oil Company, | | | | Libya Nigeria Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab |
| which produced oil and gas; Kuwait National Petroleum | | | | Emirates Venezuelav d e |
| Co., refining and domestic sales; Petrochemical | | | | Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) |
| Industries Co., producing ammonia and urea; Kuwait | | | | Albania Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina |
| Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co., with several | | | | Armenia Australia Bahrain Bangladesh |
| concessions in developing countries; Kuwait Oil Tanker | | | | Barbados Belize Benin Bolivia Botswana Brazil |
| Co.; and Santa Fe International Corp. The latter, | | | | Brunei Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cambodia |
| purchased outright in 1982, gives KPC a worldwide | | | | Cameroon Canada Cape Verde |
| presence in the petroleum industry. | | | | Central African Republic Chad Chile PR China |
| KPC also has purchased from Gulf Oil Co. refineries | | | | Colombia Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| and associated service stations in the Benelux nations | | | | Republic of the Congo Costa Rica |
| and Scandinavia, as well as storage facilities and a | | | | Cte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Djibouti Dominica |
| network of service stations in Italy. In 1987, KPC | | | | Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador |
| bought a 19% share in British Petroleum, which was | | | | European Union Fiji Gabon The Gambia |
| later reduced to 10%. KPC markets its products in | | | | Georgia Ghana Grenada Guatemala Guinea |
| Europe under the brand Q8 and is interested in the | | | | Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras |
| markets of the United States and Japan. | | | | Hong Kong Iceland India Indonesia Israel |
| Kuwait has about 94 billion barrels (15 km) of | | | | Jamaica Japan Jordan Kenya South Korea |
| recoverable oil reserves. Estimated capacity, before | | | | Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lesotho Liechtenstein |
| the war, was about 2.4 million barrels (380,000 m) | | | | Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia |
| per day. During the Iraqi occupation, Kuwait's | | | | Maldives Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mexico |
| oil-producing capacity was reduced to practically | | | | Moldova Mongolia Morocco Mozambique |
| nothing. However, tremendous recovery and | | | | Namibia Nepal New Zealand Nicaragua Niger |
| improvements have been made. Oil production was | | | | Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Panama |
| 1.5 million barrels (240,000 m) per day by the end of | | | | Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines |
| 1992, and pre-war capacity was restored in 1993. | | | | Qatar Rwanda St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia |
| Kuwait's production capacity is estimated to be 2.5 | | | | St. Vincent and the Grenadines Saudi Arabia |
| million barrels (400,000 m) per day. Kuwait plans to | | | | Senegal Sierra Leone Singapore |
| increase its capacity to 3.5 million (560,000 m) barrels | | | | Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka |
| per day by 2005.v d e | | | | Suriname Swaziland Switzerland |
| Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries | | | | Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, |
| (OPEC) | | | | Kinmen, and Matsu Tanzania Thailand Togo |
| Algeria Angola Ecuador Iran Iraq Kuwait | | | | Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey |
| Libya Nigeria Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab | | | | Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates |
| Emirates Venezuela | | | | United States Uruguay Venezuela Vietnam |
| Social benefits | | | | Zambia Zimbabwe |
| Kuwait has a fairly open economy with a lot of | | | | All twenty-seven member states of the European |
| multi-national companies operating in the oil-rich nation. | | | | Union are also members of the WTO in their own |
| Shown here is a Burger King restaurant situated at | | | | right: Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus |
| the Kuwait International Airport. | | | | Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland |
| Diversification | | | | France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland |
| In 2007, hydrocarbon industries accounted for well | | | | Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta |
| over 95% of the Kuwaiti economy. Diversification of | | | | Netherlands and Netherlands Antilles Poland |
| the economy into manufacturing industries remain a | | | | Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain |
| long-term issue. | | | | Sweden United Kingdom. |
| Industry in Kuwait consists of several large | | | | Special administrative region of the People's Republic |
| export-oriented petrochemical units, oil refineries, and | | | | of China. |
| a range of small manufacturers. It also includes large | | | | Designated name for the Republic of China |
| water desalinization, ammonia, desulfurization, | | | | (commonly known as Taiwan)v d e |
| fertilizer, brick, block, and cement plants. During the | | | | Economy of Asia |
| invasion, the Iraqis looted nearly all movable items of | | | | Sovereignstates |
| worth, especially high-technology items and small | | | | Afghanistan Armenia1 Azerbaijan1 Bahrain |
| machinery. Much of this has been replaced with | | | | Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma2 Cambodia |
| newer equipment. | | | | People's Republic of China Cyprus1 East Timor3 |
| Agriculture | | | | Egypt4 Georgia4 India Indonesia Iran Iraq |
| Agriculture is limited by the lack of water and arable | | | | Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan4 North Korea |
| land. The government has experimented in growing | | | | South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos |
| food through hydroponics and carefully managed | | | | Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal |
| farms. However, most of the soil which was suitable | | | | Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia4 Saudi |
| for farming in south central Kuwait was destroyed | | | | Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan |
| when Iraqi troops set fire to oil wells in the area and | | | | Republic of China5 Thailand Turkey4 |
| created vast "oil lakes". Fish and shrimp are plentiful in | | | | Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan |
| territorial waters, and largescale commercial fishing | | | | Vietnam Yemen |
| has been undertaken locally and in the Indian Ocean. | | | | States with limitedrecognition |
| Shipping | | | | Abkhazia1 Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus |
| The Kuwait Oil Tankers Co. has 35 crude oil and | | | | Palestine South Ossetia1 |
| refined product carriers and is the largest tanker | | | | Dependencies,autonomies,other territories |
| company in an OPEC country. Kuwait also is a | | | | Aceh Adjara1 Akrotiri and Dhekelia Altai British |
| member of the United Arab Shipping Company. | | | | Indian Ocean Territory Buryatia Christmas Island |
| External trade and finance | | | | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Guangxi Hong Kong Inner |
| Kuwaiti exports in 2006 | | | | Mongolia Iraqi Kurdistan Khakassia Macau |
| The Kuwaiti dinar is a strong currency pegged to a | | | | Nakhchivan Ningxia Papua Sakha Republic |
| basket of currencies in which the U.S. dollar has the | | | | Tibet Tuva West Papua Xinjiang |
| most weight. Kuwait ordinarily runs a | | | | 1 Sometimes included in Europe, depending on the |
| balance-of-payments surplus. | | | | border definitions. 2 Officially known as Myanmar. |
| Government revenues are dependent on oil | | | | 3 Sometimes included in Oceania, and also known as |
| revenues. Kuwait's fiscal surplus in 2000 was some | | | | Timor-Leste. 4 Transcontinental country. 5 |
| 15% of GDP, while it reversed to a deficit of more | | | | Commonly known as Taiwan. |