Travel services in Kuwait
Kuwait: Travel services was 17.5% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Travel services in Kuwait, 1975–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
Kuwait recorded 17.5% for travel services in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.8% on the previous year and up 91.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Kuwait peaked at 35.9% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 2008.
Kuwait ranks 149th of 198 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Travel services in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 16.7% | — |
| 1976 | 17.6% | +5.9% |
| 1977 | 24.4% | +38.3% |
| 1978 | 24.4% | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 31.1% | +27.2% |
| 1980 | 34.3% | +10.5% |
| 1981 | 35.9% | +4.5% |
| 1982 | 12.7% | -64.6% |
| 1983 | 11.6% | -8.7% |
| 1984 | 7.7% | -34.1% |
| 1985 | 10.9% | +42.6% |
| 1986 | 10.2% | -6.9% |
| 1987 | 9.3% | -9.0% |
| 1988 | 11.4% | +23.3% |
| 1989 | 12.7% | +11.6% |
| 1992 | 21.5% | +69.0% |
| 1993 | 8.1% | -62.5% |
| 1994 | 8.5% | +5.4% |
| 1995 | 10.7% | +26.3% |
| 1996 | 14.9% | +38.6% |
| 1997 | 12.5% | -16.2% |
| 1998 | 13.8% | +10.5% |
| 1999 | 7.1% | -48.6% |
| 2000 | 6.2% | -11.8% |
| 2001 | 7.5% | +20.7% |
| 2002 | 8.6% | +13.5% |
| 2003 | 6.7% | -21.5% |
| 2004 | 7.1% | +5.6% |
| 2005 | 4.3% | -39.3% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | -36.6% |
| 2007 | 2.5% | -10.3% |
| 2008 | 2.3% | -7.5% |
| 2009 | 3.3% | +44.0% |
| 2010 | 3.4% | +4.9% |
| 2011 | 3.4% | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 5.2% | +53.2% |
| 2013 | 5.3% | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 6.5% | +22.3% |
| 2015 | 9.1% | +40.8% |
| 2016 | 12.1% | +32.1% |
| 2017 | 6.6% | -45.1% |
| 2018 | 6.1% | -8.7% |
| 2019 | 9.4% | +54.6% |
| 2020 | 6.0% | -35.8% |
| 2021 | 6.0% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 10.8% | +78.8% |
| 2023 | 16.2% | +49.7% |
| 2024 | 19.4% | +19.9% |
| 2025 | 17.5% | -9.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 22.9% | 16.7% | 31.1% | 5 |
| 1980s | 15.7% | 7.7% | 35.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.1% | 7.1% | 21.5% | 8 |
| 2000s | 5.1% | 2.3% | 8.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.7% | 3.4% | 12.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.6% | 6.0% | 19.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
- 146 Mozambique 18.1% compare
- 147 Cayman Islands 17.8% compare
- 148 United States of America 17.7% compare
- 150 Latvia 17.0% compare
- 151 Philippines 16.9% compare
- 152 Ghana 16.8% compare
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 travel services in Kuwait?
- Travel services in Kuwait was 17.5% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 35.9% in 1981.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 2008.
- How does Kuwait rank for travel services?
- Kuwait ranks 149th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is up 91.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Kuwait data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.