Merchandise trade in Kuwait
Kuwait: Merchandise trade was 72.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Merchandise trade in Kuwait, 1962–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Kuwait recorded 72.3% for merchandise trade in 2025.
The figure is up 2.8% on the previous year and down 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Kuwait peaked at 103.3% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 53.1%, in 1991.
Kuwait ranks 61st of 204 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 74.5% | — |
| 1963 | 76.8% | +3.1% |
| 1964 | 75.9% | -1.1% |
| 1965 | 79.2% | +4.3% |
| 1966 | 75.5% | -4.7% |
| 1967 | 79.8% | +5.7% |
| 1968 | 77.0% | -3.5% |
| 1969 | 78.9% | +2.5% |
| 1970 | 80.7% | +2.2% |
| 1971 | 81.4% | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 85.1% | +4.5% |
| 1973 | 89.9% | +5.7% |
| 1974 | 96.2% | +7.0% |
| 1975 | 96.3% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 100.3% | +4.2% |
| 1977 | 103.3% | +3.0% |
| 1978 | 96.9% | -6.2% |
| 1979 | 95.4% | -1.6% |
| 1980 | 91.5% | -4.1% |
| 1981 | 91.9% | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 88.7% | -3.4% |
| 1983 | 90.4% | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 85.3% | -5.6% |
| 1985 | 77.4% | -9.3% |
| 1986 | 73.2% | -5.5% |
| 1987 | 61.5% | -15.9% |
| 1988 | 66.7% | +8.5% |
| 1989 | 73.1% | +9.6% |
| 1990 | 59.8% | -18.2% |
| 1991 | 53.1% | -11.1% |
| 1992 | 69.7% | +31.1% |
| 1993 | 72.2% | +3.6% |
| 1994 | 72.3% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 75.7% | +4.7% |
| 1996 | 73.9% | -2.4% |
| 1997 | 74.0% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 70.0% | -5.4% |
| 1999 | 65.7% | -6.3% |
| 2000 | 70.5% | +7.4% |
| 2001 | 69.0% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 63.9% | -7.4% |
| 2003 | 66.1% | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 69.4% | +4.9% |
| 2005 | 75.1% | +8.3% |
| 2006 | 72.1% | -3.9% |
| 2007 | 73.3% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 76.2% | +3.9% |
| 2009 | 69.7% | -8.5% |
| 2010 | 80.3% | +15.1% |
| 2011 | 82.6% | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 84.0% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 82.9% | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 81.9% | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 74.3% | -9.3% |
| 2016 | 70.5% | -5.1% |
| 2017 | 73.4% | +4.2% |
| 2018 | 77.8% | +5.9% |
| 2019 | 69.6% | -10.5% |
| 2020 | 61.1% | -12.2% |
| 2021 | 64.0% | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 73.3% | +14.5% |
| 2023 | 73.4% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 70.4% | -4.2% |
| 2025 | 72.3% | +2.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 77.2% | 74.5% | 79.8% | 8 |
| 1970s | 92.5% | 80.7% | 103.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 80.0% | 61.5% | 91.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 68.6% | 53.1% | 75.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 70.5% | 63.9% | 76.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 77.7% | 69.6% | 84.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 69.1% | 61.1% | 73.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More private sector data for Kuwait
- 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$), annual growth rate -4.09 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 8,553 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Kuwait?
- Merchandise trade in Kuwait was 72.3% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 103.3% in 1977.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.1% in 1991.
- How does Kuwait rank for merchandise trade?
- Kuwait ranks 61st out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kuwait data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.