Kuwait vs Qatar: Foreign direct investment, net outflows as share of GDP
Kuwait
1.9%
in 2025
Qatar
1.6%
in 2025
Kuwait rank
32nd
Qatar rank
35th
Foreign direct investment, net outflows as share of GDP over time
- Kuwait
- Qatar
How they compare
Kuwait currently reports 1.9% against 1.6% in Qatar, a difference of 0.3%.
That makes Kuwait's figure about 1.2 times Qatar's.
The two have swapped places 12 times across 44 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Kuwait ahead.
Kuwait ranks 32nd and Qatar ranks 35th of 189 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Kuwait averaged higher in 4 and Qatar in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Kuwait | Qatar | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.7% | -0.0% | 1.7% | Kuwait |
| 1990s | -0.9% | 0.1% | 1.0% | Qatar |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 1.6% | 0.9% | Kuwait |
| 2010s | 5.5% | 2.9% | 2.6% | Kuwait |
| 2020s | 5.0% | 0.9% | 4.1% | Kuwait |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher foreign direct investment, net outflows as share of gdp, Kuwait or Qatar?
- Kuwait, at 1.9% against 1.6% in Qatar as of 2025.
- What is the difference in foreign direct investment, net outflows as share of gdp between Kuwait and Qatar?
- 0.3%, with Kuwait ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Kuwait and Qatar?
- 44 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2025.
- How do Kuwait and Qatar rank globally for foreign direct investment, net outflows as share of gdp?
- Kuwait ranks 32nd and Qatar ranks 35th of 189 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Monetary Fund (Balance of Payments), UNCTAD, and national sources, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Foreign direct investment, net outflows as share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Net outflows of foreign direct investment from the reporting economy to the rest of the world.