Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Kuwait
Kuwait: Travel services (% of commercial service imports) was 44.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Kuwait, 1975–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for travel services in Kuwait is 44.5%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 3.2% on the previous year and down 20.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Kuwait peaked at 66.1% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 26.2%, in 1977.
That places Kuwait 16th out of 198 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 31.1% | — |
| 1976 | 29.6% | -4.8% |
| 1977 | 26.2% | -11.4% |
| 1978 | 29.4% | +12.4% |
| 1979 | 44.2% | +50.1% |
| 1980 | 50.8% | +15.1% |
| 1981 | 44.8% | -11.9% |
| 1982 | 44.6% | -0.5% |
| 1983 | 47.0% | +5.5% |
| 1984 | 52.3% | +11.2% |
| 1985 | 60.0% | +14.7% |
| 1986 | 61.8% | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 66.1% | +7.1% |
| 1988 | 64.6% | -2.3% |
| 1989 | 63.7% | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 54.9% | -13.9% |
| 1993 | 54.7% | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 59.4% | +8.6% |
| 1995 | 58.8% | -1.1% |
| 1996 | 59.5% | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 58.6% | -1.5% |
| 1998 | 59.3% | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 58.7% | -1.0% |
| 2000 | 60.6% | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 62.9% | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 61.9% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 60.5% | -2.3% |
| 2004 | 59.7% | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 60.9% | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 63.3% | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 63.2% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 51.2% | -19.1% |
| 2009 | 48.0% | -6.1% |
| 2010 | 44.9% | -6.5% |
| 2011 | 45.9% | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 46.2% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 48.6% | +5.1% |
| 2014 | 50.4% | +3.9% |
| 2015 | 56.1% | +11.2% |
| 2016 | 48.3% | -13.8% |
| 2017 | 46.2% | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 40.5% | -12.4% |
| 2019 | 55.3% | +36.6% |
| 2020 | 39.8% | -28.0% |
| 2021 | 39.4% | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 50.3% | +27.8% |
| 2023 | 51.4% | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 46.0% | -10.6% |
| 2025 | 44.5% | -3.2% |
Kuwait compared with similar countries
- Kuwait's 44.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.8%, 2.0× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Kuwait's 44.5% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 23.9%, 1.9× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service imports) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | +50.1% | 29.4% | 44.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 32.1% | 26.2% | 44.2% | 5 |
| 1980s | 55.6% | 44.6% | 66.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 58.0% | 54.7% | 59.5% | 8 |
| 2000s | 59.2% | 48.0% | 63.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 48.2% | 40.5% | 56.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.2% | 39.4% | 51.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More private sector data for Kuwait
- Merchandise trade 72.3% (2025)
- Food imports 16.0% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 75.4% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 41.61 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 28.64 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 0.6% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 5.7% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 72.07 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 12.14 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 14,814 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Kuwait?
- Travel services in Kuwait was 44.5% 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 66.1% in 1987.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.2% in 1977.
- How does Kuwait rank for travel services?
- Kuwait ranks 16th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 imports). 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 imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.