Kuwait: Natural gas rents (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Kuwait's natural gas rents (% of GDP) rose 0.52 percentage points on 2019 (from 1.18% to 1.7%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was +0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.2 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.55 percentage points in 1983 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.5 percentage points in 1974. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.08 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 60% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Kuwait in the 2020 ranking

• Syrian Arab Republic — 1st of 5: 2.33%
• Cuba — 3rd of 5: 0.02%
• Greenland — 4th of 5: 0%
• Virgin Islands (US) — 5th of 5: 0%

What this measures

Natural gas rents are the difference between the value of natural gas production at regional prices and total costs of production.

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

All 49 values

Natural gas rents (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 0.00195% (2021)
• Algeria — 8% (2021)
• Bahrain — 5.7% (2021)
• Djibouti — 0% (2021)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 2.05% (2021)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 8.81% (2021)
• Iraq — 0.66% (2021)
• Israel — 0.43% (2021)
• Jordan — 0.04% (2021)
• Lebanon — 0% (2021)
• Libya — 4.58% (2021)
• Malta

More environment data for Kuwait

• Population in largest city — 3.41 million (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 69.99% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 3.41 million (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 69.99% (2025)
• Rural population — 0 (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 0% (2025)
• Urban population — 4.87 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 100% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 461.24 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Kuwait's natural gas rents (% of GDP)?

1.7% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 0.85 percentage points from 0.85% in 1971. The highest value was 1.7% in 2020 and the lowest 0.21% in 1982.

Is the latest change in natural gas rents (% of GDP) unusual for Kuwait?

In 2020, Kuwait's natural gas rents (% of GDP) rose 0.52 percentage points on 2019 (from 1.18% to 1.7%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was +0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.2 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/changing-wealth-of-nations/data, note: World Bank staff estimates based on sources and methods described in the World Bank's The Changing Wealth of Nations., publisher: World Bank (WB); Staff estimates, Wo….

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.GDP.NGAS.RT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/changing-wealth-of-nations/data, note: World Bank staff estimates based on sources and methods described in the World Bank's The Changing Wealth of Nations., publisher: World Bank (WB); Staff estimates, Wo… 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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