Current account balance in Kuwait
Kuwait: Current account balance was 22.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Current account balance in Kuwait, 1975–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, current account balance in Kuwait stood at 22.7%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 21.8% on the previous year and up 203.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, current account balance in Kuwait peaked at 56.7% in 1979 and was at its lowest, -2.3%, in 1992.
That places Kuwait 3rd out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 49 years of available data.
Current account balance in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 49.3% | — |
| 1976 | 52.8% | +7.0% |
| 1977 | 32.3% | -38.9% |
| 1978 | 39.5% | +22.6% |
| 1979 | 56.7% | +43.4% |
| 1980 | 53.4% | -5.8% |
| 1981 | 54.7% | +2.3% |
| 1982 | 23.0% | -57.9% |
| 1983 | 25.4% | +10.6% |
| 1984 | 29.6% | +16.4% |
| 1985 | 22.4% | -24.5% |
| 1986 | 31.4% | +40.2% |
| 1987 | 20.4% | -35.0% |
| 1988 | 22.2% | +9.1% |
| 1989 | 37.6% | +69.0% |
| 1992 | -2.3% | -106.0% |
| 1993 | 10.4% | -560.4% |
| 1994 | 13.1% | +25.1% |
| 1995 | 18.4% | +41.4% |
| 1996 | 22.6% | +22.3% |
| 1997 | 26.1% | +15.8% |
| 1998 | 8.5% | -67.3% |
| 1999 | 16.6% | +94.8% |
| 2000 | 38.9% | +133.9% |
| 2001 | 23.9% | -38.7% |
| 2002 | 11.2% | -53.1% |
| 2003 | 19.7% | +76.0% |
| 2004 | 26.1% | +32.5% |
| 2005 | 37.2% | +42.6% |
| 2006 | 44.6% | +19.9% |
| 2007 | 36.1% | -19.2% |
| 2008 | 40.9% | +13.4% |
| 2009 | 27.3% | -33.1% |
| 2010 | 32.0% | +17.2% |
| 2011 | 42.9% | +34.0% |
| 2012 | 45.5% | +5.9% |
| 2013 | 39.9% | -12.2% |
| 2014 | 33.2% | -16.8% |
| 2015 | 7.5% | -77.4% |
| 2016 | 0.6% | -92.2% |
| 2017 | 6.4% | +995.8% |
| 2018 | 17.3% | +169.9% |
| 2019 | 21.5% | +23.8% |
| 2020 | 19.8% | -7.6% |
| 2021 | 23.6% | +18.7% |
| 2022 | 34.4% | +45.9% |
| 2023 | 31.1% | -9.6% |
| 2024 | 29.0% | -6.6% |
| 2025 | 22.7% | -21.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 46.1% | 32.3% | 56.7% | 5 |
| 1980s | 32.0% | 20.4% | 54.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.2% | -2.3% | 26.1% | 8 |
| 2000s | 30.6% | 11.2% | 44.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.7% | 0.6% | 45.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.8% | 19.8% | 34.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
- 1 Tuvalu 40.0% compare
- 2 Macao 33.7% compare
- 4 San Marino 22.0% compare
- 5 Marshall Islands 21.9% compare
- 6 Brunei Darussalam 18.0% compare
More economy & growth data for Kuwait
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.82 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.61 Percent per annum (2029)
- Services, value added (current US$), annual growth rate 4.66 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.5962 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per capita 19,266 current US$ per person (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), annual growth rate 4.58 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.1827 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), per capita 5,904 current LCU per person (2025)
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 3.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.5337 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is current account balance in Kuwait?
- Current account balance in Kuwait was 22.7% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest current account balance recorded in Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 56.7% in 1979.
- What is the lowest current account balance recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was -2.3% in 1992.
- How does Kuwait rank for current account balance?
- Kuwait ranks 3rd out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is current account balance rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is up 203.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Current account balance (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Balance of current transactions (transactions in goods and services, earned income and transfer income) between residents and non-residents. The term current account balance is used in the external accounts and is expressed from the perspective of resident units. The term current external balance is used in the national accounts and is expressed from the perspective of the non-resident units, and therefore with the opposite sign. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.