Kuwait: Imports of goods and services (annual % growth)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Kuwait's imports of goods and services (annual % growth) fell 20.49 percentage points on 2023 (from 13.44% to -7.05%).

Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2012 to 2023), the average change was +0.69 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 16.51 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 30.27 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 20.49 percentage points in 2024. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Kuwait had the 28th highest value of the 29 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Kuwait in the 2024 ranking

• Lebanon — 25th of 29: -0.1%
• Cuba — 26th of 29: -1.34%
• Panama — 27th of 29: -2.61%
• Bolivia — 29th of 29: -10.44%

What this measures

Imports of goods includes change in the economic ownership of goods from non-residents to residents of the compiling economy, irrespective of physical movement of goods across national borders. Imports of services includes services provided by non-residents to residents. This indicator denotes the percentage change over each previous year of the constant price (base year 2015) series in United States dollars.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 14 values

Imports of goods and services (annual % growth) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 17.32% (2025)
• Bahrain — 1.58% (2024)
• Djibouti — -2.9% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 29.16% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — -13.5% (2025)
• Iraq — 24.81% (2024)
• Israel — 8.17% (2025)
• Lebanon — -0.1% (2024)
• Libya — 8.17% (2025)
• Malta — 4.39% (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Kuwait

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$51.74 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$40.65 billion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$157.21 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 48.18 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$32,312 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 9,902 (2025)
• GNI (current US$) — US$193.99 billion (2024)
• GNI (current LCU) — 59.49 billion (2024)
• GNI per capita (current LCU) — 12,148 (2024)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$41.5 billion (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Kuwait's imports of goods and services (annual % growth)?

-7.05% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2011?

It is down 12.22 percentage points from 5.17% in 2011. The highest value was 33.19% in 2022 and the lowest -26.4% in 2020.

How does Kuwait rank?

28th highest of 29 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in imports of goods and services (annual % growth) unusual for Kuwait?

In 2024, Kuwait's imports of goods and services (annual % growth) fell 20.49 percentage points on 2023 (from 13.44% to -7.05%). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2012 to 2023), the average change was +0.69 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 16.51 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.IMP.GNFS.KD.ZG, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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