Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kuwait
Kuwait: Merchandise exports to high-income economies was 48.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kuwait, 1973–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
Kuwait recorded 48.5% for merchandise exports to high-income economies in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.5% on the previous year and up 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kuwait peaked at 89.0% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 38.4%, in 2018.
Kuwait ranks 144th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 87.5% | — |
| 1974 | 89.0% | +1.7% |
| 1975 | 80.9% | -9.1% |
| 1976 | 82.8% | +2.4% |
| 1977 | 85.8% | +3.6% |
| 1978 | 87.7% | +2.2% |
| 1979 | 87.1% | -0.7% |
| 1980 | 83.0% | -4.8% |
| 1981 | 78.2% | -5.7% |
| 1982 | 71.5% | -8.6% |
| 1983 | 78.3% | +9.6% |
| 1984 | 78.2% | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 78.6% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 77.7% | -1.2% |
| 1987 | 77.1% | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 74.5% | -3.3% |
| 1989 | 73.6% | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 74.6% | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 50.4% | -32.4% |
| 1992 | 68.3% | +35.6% |
| 1993 | 77.3% | +13.2% |
| 1994 | 73.0% | -5.6% |
| 1995 | 49.0% | -32.8% |
| 1996 | 70.6% | +44.0% |
| 1997 | 70.3% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 70.2% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 68.0% | -3.1% |
| 2000 | 48.6% | -28.5% |
| 2001 | 43.9% | -9.7% |
| 2002 | 43.8% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 43.9% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 43.9% | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 43.9% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 43.9% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 43.9% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 43.9% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 43.9% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 43.9% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 43.8% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 43.9% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 43.9% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 43.9% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 44.0% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 49.5% | +12.5% |
| 2017 | 47.1% | -4.8% |
| 2018 | 38.4% | -18.5% |
| 2019 | 40.1% | +4.4% |
| 2020 | 48.3% | +20.5% |
| 2021 | 46.3% | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 49.7% | +7.5% |
| 2023 | 48.5% | -2.5% |
Kuwait compared with similar countries
- Kuwait's 48.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 80.7%, 60% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Kuwait's 48.5% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 55.1%, 88% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kuwait changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | +44.0% | 49.0% | 70.6% |
| 1992 | +35.6% | 50.4% | 68.3% |
| 1995 | -32.8% | 73.0% | 49.0% |
| 1991 | -32.4% | 74.6% | 50.4% |
| 2000 | -28.5% | 68.0% | 48.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 85.8% | 80.9% | 89.0% | 7 |
| 1980s | 77.1% | 71.5% | 83.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 67.2% | 49.0% | 77.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 44.4% | 43.8% | 48.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 43.8% | 38.4% | 49.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.2% | 46.3% | 49.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More private sector data for Kuwait
- Merchandise trade 72.3% (2025)
- Food imports 17.5% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 73.2% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 41.61 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 0.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 8.1% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 72.07 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 14,814 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4585 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -4.09 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kuwait?
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Kuwait was 48.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 89.0% in 1974.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.4% in 2018.
- How does Kuwait rank for merchandise exports to high-income economies?
- Kuwait ranks 144th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to high-income economies rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kuwait data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise exports to high-income economies are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.