Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kuwait
Kuwait: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 60.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kuwait, 1963–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kuwait is 60.3%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 60 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and down 12.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kuwait peaked at 93.1% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 60.3%, in 2023.
Kuwait ranks 98th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 85.9% | — |
| 1964 | 82.0% | -4.5% |
| 1966 | 81.3% | -0.9% |
| 1967 | 82.2% | +1.2% |
| 1968 | 76.9% | -6.4% |
| 1969 | 78.0% | +1.4% |
| 1970 | 78.5% | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 78.5% | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 77.9% | -0.8% |
| 1973 | 78.9% | +1.3% |
| 1974 | 81.1% | +2.8% |
| 1975 | 87.3% | +7.7% |
| 1976 | 87.7% | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 87.6% | -0.1% |
| 1978 | 87.4% | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 87.4% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 89.2% | +2.0% |
| 1981 | 89.4% | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 90.0% | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 88.9% | -1.2% |
| 1984 | 88.3% | -0.7% |
| 1985 | 87.0% | -1.4% |
| 1986 | 86.3% | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 82.7% | -4.1% |
| 1988 | 80.4% | -2.8% |
| 1989 | 79.4% | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 85.4% | +7.5% |
| 1991 | 93.1% | +9.0% |
| 1992 | 87.1% | -6.5% |
| 1993 | 88.4% | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 81.8% | -7.5% |
| 1995 | 82.8% | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 81.4% | -1.7% |
| 1997 | 81.7% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 80.7% | -1.2% |
| 1999 | 79.5% | -1.5% |
| 2000 | 78.0% | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 77.3% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 76.4% | -1.2% |
| 2003 | 76.3% | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 70.8% | -7.2% |
| 2005 | 71.1% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 71.7% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 70.9% | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 67.2% | -5.3% |
| 2009 | 68.4% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 68.5% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 66.9% | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 67.8% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 69.2% | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 68.0% | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 64.3% | -5.4% |
| 2016 | 65.7% | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 65.4% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 64.6% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 62.7% | -3.0% |
| 2020 | 61.8% | -1.4% |
| 2021 | 61.8% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 61.0% | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 60.3% | -1.2% |
Kuwait compared with similar countries
- Kuwait's 60.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 78.4%, 77% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Kuwait's 60.3% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 57.0%, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 81.1% | 76.9% | 85.9% | 6 |
| 1970s | 83.2% | 77.9% | 87.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 86.2% | 79.4% | 90.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 84.2% | 79.5% | 93.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 72.8% | 67.2% | 78.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 66.3% | 62.7% | 69.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 61.2% | 60.3% | 61.8% | 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 imports from high-income economies in Kuwait?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Kuwait was 60.3% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 93.1% in 1991.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 60.3% in 2023.
- How does Kuwait rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- Kuwait ranks 98th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.9%. 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 imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise imports from high-income economies are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.