Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Kuwait
Kuwait: Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) was 0.4% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP in Kuwait, 2000–2024
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in %.
Analysis
Kuwait recorded 0.4% for foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in 2024.
That represents a change of down 70.0% on the previous year and up 28.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Kuwait peaked at 2.1% in 2011 and was at its lowest, -0.5%, in 2020.
That places Kuwait 175th out of 214 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Kuwait, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.0% | — |
| 2001 | -0.3% | -839.6% |
| 2002 | 0.0% | -103.0% |
| 2003 | -0.1% | -1577.0% |
| 2004 | 0.0% | -128.5% |
| 2005 | 0.3% | +624.4% |
| 2006 | 0.1% | -58.7% |
| 2007 | 0.1% | -18.5% |
| 2008 | -0.0% | -104.2% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | -26122.1% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | +7.6% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | +87.2% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | -22.0% |
| 2013 | 0.8% | -50.1% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | -63.7% |
| 2015 | 0.2% | -16.8% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | +7.4% |
| 2017 | 0.1% | -64.9% |
| 2018 | -0.0% | -116.5% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -2474.1% |
| 2020 | -0.5% | -237.3% |
| 2021 | -0.2% | -63.5% |
| 2022 | 0.4% | -323.3% |
| 2023 | 1.3% | +211.9% |
| 2024 | 0.4% | -70.0% |
Kuwait compared with similar countries
- Kuwait's 0.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.6%, 15% of the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Kuwait's 0.4% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.6%, 23% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Kuwait changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | +26122.1% | -0.0% | 1.1% |
| 2019 | +2474.1% | -0.0% | 0.4% |
| 2003 | -1577.0% | 0.0% | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.1% | -0.3% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | -0.0% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3% | -0.5% | 1.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Kuwait
More economy & growth data for Kuwait
- Real gdp growth, annual growth rate 10.23 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.56 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0284 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 916.14 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate 0.517 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0207 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 668.96 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 2.97 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Kuwait?
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Kuwait was 0.4% in 2024, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp recorded in Kuwait?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 2011.
- What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp recorded in Kuwait?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.5% in 2020.
- How does Kuwait rank for foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp?
- Kuwait ranks 175th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp rising or falling in Kuwait?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Kuwait data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).