Kuwait's imports of goods and services (current LCU) was 18.87 billion in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 29.28% from 14.59 billion in 2014 (2.6% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 18.87 billion | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 16.95 billion | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 14.59 billion | 2014 |
| Highest | 19.48 billion | 2023 |
| Lowest | 173 million | 1965 |
| Average since 2015 | 16.66 billion | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 173 million |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Kuwait's imports of goods and services (current LCU) fell 3.2% on 2023 (from 19.48 billion to 18.87 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +6.8% and a typical year strayed about 11.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 71.8% in 1975 and the biggest yearly fall was 23.1% in 2020. 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 8% 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 22nd highest value of the 34 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
- Eswatini — 19th of 34: 47.82 billion
- Panama — 20th of 34: 34.02 billion
- Oman — 21st of 34: 20.09 billion
- Faroe Islands — 23rd of 34: 14.31 billion
- Bahrain — 24th of 34: 12.42 billion
- Solomon Islands — 25th of 34: 9.48 billion
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 is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.
All 60 values
| Year | Imports of goods and services (current LCU) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 18,868,000,000 |
| 2023 | 19,483,400,000 |
| 2022 | 17,123,500,000 |
| 2021 | 13,547,600,000 |
| 2020 | 13,024,000,000 |
| 2019 | 16,946,900,000 |
| 2018 | 19,037,800,000 |
| 2017 | 17,076,533,500 |
| 2016 | 16,040,457,000 |
| 2015 | 15,490,442,100 |
Imports of goods and services (current LCU) in nearby economies
- Afghanistan — 858.87 billion (2024)
- Algeria — 8.36 trillion (2025)
- Bahrain — 12.42 billion (2024)
- Djibouti — 787.38 billion (2025)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 5.72 trillion (2025)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 92,886.9 trillion (2025)
- Iraq — 135.87 trillion (2024)
- Israel — 536.17 billion (2025)
- Lebanon — 1,369.48 trillion (2024)
- Libya — 168.27 billion (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
Questions people ask
- What is Kuwait's imports of goods and services (current LCU)?
- 18.87 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1965?
- It is up 10,806% from 173 million in 1965 (8.28% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 19.48 billion in 2023 and the lowest 173 million in 1965.
- How does Kuwait rank?
- 22nd highest of 34 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in imports of goods and services (current LCU) unusual for Kuwait?
- In 2024, Kuwait's imports of goods and services (current LCU) fell 3.2% on 2023 (from 19.48 billion to 18.87 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +6.8% and a typical year strayed about 11.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.IMP.GNFS.CN, 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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