Demographics of Kuwait

This is a demography of the population of Kuwait (Arabic: سكان الكويت).

Demographics of Kuwait
Population pyramid of Kuwait in 2020
Population	3,068,155 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	1.17% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	17.78 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	2.25 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	79.13 years
• male	77.67 years
• female	80.65 years
Fertility rate	2.24 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	7.43 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	-3.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	19.49%
15–64 years	76.71%
65 and over	3.80%
Sex ratio
Total	1.37 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.09 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.66 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Kuwaiti
Language
Official	Arabic

Crowd of Kuwaiti spectators.

Expatriates account for around 60% of Kuwait's total population, with Kuwaitis constituting 38%-42% of the total population. The government and some Kuwaiti citizens consider the proportion of expatriates (which has been relatively stable since the mid-1970s) to be a problem, and in 2016 the number of deportations increased.^[1]

Governorates

Further information: Governorates of Kuwait

Kuwait consists of six governorates: Hawalli, Asimah, Farwaniyah, Jahra, Ahmadi and Mubarak Al-Kabeer.^[2] Most people in Kuwait live in the governorates of Hawalli, Asimah, and Farwaniyah.^[2]

Historical populations

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1950	152,000	—
1960	264,000	+73.7%
1970	753,000	+185.2%
1980	1,377,000	+82.9%
1990	2,088,000	+51.6%
2000	1,941,000	−7.0%
2010	2,737,000	+41.0%
2020	4,464,000	+63.1%
Source:^[3]

Population of Kuwait according to nationality

Census year	Kuwaiti			non-Kuwaiti			Total	Change
	Population	%		Population	%		Population	%
1975	307,755	30.9		687,082	69		994,837	-
1985	470,473	35		1,226,828	65		1,697,301	70.6
1995	653,616	41.5		921,954	58.5		1,575,570	-7.2
2005	860,324	39.2		1,333,327	60.8		2,193,651	39.2
2015	1,208,643	32.3		2,535,017	67.7		3,743,660	70.6

The biggest population difficulty in Kuwait involves the Bedoon, stateless people. According to Human Rights Watch in 1995, Kuwait has produced 300,000 stateless Bedoon.^[4] Kuwait has the largest number of stateless people in the entire region.^[5][6][7] The Bedoon issue in Kuwait is largely sectarian.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

Vital statistics

UN estimates

^[13]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950-1955	8,000	2,000	6,000	43.7	12.3	31.4	7.21	113
1955-1960	9,000	2,000	7,000	40.0	9.6	30.4	7.21	90
1960-1965	16,000	3,000	13,000	43.4	7.6	35.8	7.31	70
1965-1970	30,000	4,000	26,000	48.8	6.3	42.5	7.41	53
1970-1975	43,000	5,000	38,000	47.6	5.2	42.4	6.90	40
1975-1980	49,000	5,000	44,000	40.7	4.2	36.5	5.89	29
1980-1985	58,000	5,000	52,000	37.1	3.4	33.6	5.10	22
1985-1990	51,000	5,000	45,000	26.5	2.8	23.7	3.34	16
1990-1995	33,000	5,000	28,000	18.0	2.7	15.3	2.20	13
1995-2000	43,000	5,000	38,000	24.1	3.0	21.1	2.93	11
2000-2005	39,000	6,000	32,000	18.5	3.1	15.4	2.24	10
2005-2010	47,000	7,000	40,000	18.7	3.1	15.6	2.32	8
2010-2015	58,000	9,000	49,000	16.1	2.4	13.7	2.08	8
2015-2020	60,000	12,000	48,000	12.6	2.9	9.7	2.07	7
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Registered births and deaths

^[14][15]

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	TFR
1958		6,881
1959		9,023
1960		11,616	1,235	10,381
1961	296,000	12,942	2,504	10,438	43.7	8.4	35.2
1962	337,000	15,204	2,180	13,024	45.1	6.5	38.6
1963	384,000	17,397	2,139	15,258	45.4	5.6	39.8
1964	433,000	19,428	2,618	16,810	44.8	6.0	38.8
1965	484,000	21,950	2,454	19,496	45.3	5.1	40.3
1966	536,000	23,732	2,813	20,919	44.3	5.3	39.0
1967	588,000	28,334	3,111	25,223	48.2	5.3	42.9
1968	642,000	33,026	3,346	29,680	51.5	5.2	46.3
1969	697,000	35,135	3,378	31,757	50.4	4.8	45.6
1970	753,000	33,842	3,735	30,107	44.9	5.0	40.0
1971	811,000	35,558	3,832	31,726	43.8	4.7	39.1
1972	870,000	37,688	4,149	33,539	43.3	4.8	38.5
1973	931,000	40,165	4,601	35,564	43.2	4.9	38.2
1974	992,000	41,060	4,693	36,367	41.4	4.7	36.7
1975	1,054,000	42,861	4,778	38,083	40.7	4.5	36.1
1976	1,116,000	46,039	4,661	41,378	41.3	4.2	37.1
1977	1,179,000	46,864	5,365	41,499	39.8	4.6	35.2
1978	1,243,000	48,010	4,936	43,074	38.6	4.0	34.7
1979	1,309,000	48,273	5,028	43,245	36.9	3.8	33.0
1980	1,377,000	51,090	4,932	46,158	37.1	3.6	33.5
1981	1,446,000	52,041	4,678	47,363	36.0	3.2	32.8
1982	1,514,000	54,257	4,992	49,265	35.8	3.3	32.5
1983	1,584,000	55,617	4,654	50,963	35.1	2.9	32.2
1984	1,660,000	56,776	4,544	52,232	34.2	2.7	31.5
1985	1,742,000	55,087	4,711	50,376	31.6	2.7	28.9
1986	1,836,000	53,845	4,390	49,455	29.3	2.4	26.9
1987	1,937,000	52,412	4,113	48,299	27.1	2.1	24.9
1988	2,028,000	53,080	4,581	48,499	26.2	2.3	23.9
1989	2,084,000	52,858	4,628	48,230	25.4	2.2	23.1
1990	2,088,000
1991	2,031,000	20,609	3,380	17,229	10.1	1.7	8.5
1992	1,924,000	34,817	3,369	31,448	18.1	1.8	16.3
1993	1,796,000	37,379	3,441	33,938	20.8	1.9	18.9
1994	1,688,000	38,868	3,464	35,404	23.0	2.1	21.0
1995	1,628,000	41,169	3,781	37,388	25.3	2.3	23.0
1996	1,628,000	44,620	3,812	40,808	27.4	2.3	25.1
1997	1,679,000	42,815	4,017	38,798	25.5	2.4	23.1
1998	1,764,000	41,424	4,216	37,208	23.5	2.4	21.1
1999	1,857,000	41,135	4,187	36,948	22.1	2.3	19.9
2000	1,941,000	41,843	4,227	37,616	21.6	2.2	19.4
2001	2,010,000	41,342	4,364	36,978	20.6	2.2	18.4
2002	2,070,000	43,490	4,342	39,148	21.0	2.1	18.9
2003	2,127,000	43,982	4,424	39,558	20.7	2.1	18.6
2004	2,189,000	47,274	4,793	42,481	21.6	2.2	19.4
2005	2,264,000	50,941	4,784	46,157	22.5	2.1	20.4
2006	2,351,000	52,759	5,247	47,512	22.4	2.2	20.2
2007	2,448,000	53,587	5,293	48,294	21.9	2.2	19.7
2008	2,548,000	54,571	5,701	48,870	21.4	2.2	19.2
2009	2,778,000	56,503	6,266	50,237	20.3	2.3	18.1
2010	2,933,000	57,533	5,448	52,085	19.6	1.9	17.8
2011	3,099,000	58,198	5,339	52,859	18.7	1.7	17.0	1.95
2012	3,246,622	59,753	5,950	53,803	18.4	1.8	16.6	1.86
2013	3,427,595	59,426	5,909	53,517	17.3	1.7	15.6	1.72
2014	3,588,092	61,313	6,031	55,282	16.3	1.6	14.7	1.90
2015	3,743,660	59,271	6,481	52,790	14.9	1.6	13.3
2016	3,925,487	58,797	6,338	52,459	14.4	1.5	12.9	1.47
2017	4,082,704	59,172	6,679	52,493	14.7	1.7	13.0	2.15
2018	4,226,920	56,121	6,807	49,314	13.6	1.7	11.9	2.16
2019	4,420,110	53,565	7,306	46,259	12.1	1.6	10.4	2.08
2020	4,464,521	52,463	10,569	41,894	11.7	2.4	9.3	2.03
2021	4,336,012	51,585	10,938	40,647	11.9	2.5	9.4	2.08
2022	4,216,900

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (1.01.2020) (Census - provisional):^[16]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2,743,617	1,720,904	4,464,521	100
0-4	123,863	111,800	235,663	5,27
5-9	190,736	153,412	344,148	7,7
10-14	160,820	129,882	290,702	6,51
15-19	135,324	111,798	247,122	5,53
20-24	126,687	102,773	229,460	5,13
25-29	113,416	93,183	206,599	4,62
30-34	205,555	157,101	362,656	8,12
35-39	341,766	192,989	534,755	11,97
40-44	368,779	180,249	549,028	12,29
45-49	342,307	165,443	507,750	11,37
50-54	234,060	112,764	346,824	7,76
55-59	158,989	76,976	235,965	5,28
60-64	105,746	46,617	152,363	3,41
65-69	59,345	27,921	87,266	1,95
70-74	26,885	15,982	42,867	0,96
75-79	11,984	8,711	20,695	0,46
80+	10,839	7,912	18,751	0,42
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	475,419	395,094	870,513	19,49
15-64	2,132,629	1,239,893	3,372,522	75,54
65+	109,053	60,526	169,579	3,80

Life expectancy

 

Life expectancy at birth in Kuwait

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	53.6	1985–1990	71.6
1955–1960	58.3	1990–1995	72.4
1960–1965	62.0	1995–2000	73.0
1965–1970	64.9	2000–2005	73.3
1970–1975	67.1	2005–2010	73.7
1975–1980	68.7	2010–2015	74.3
1980–1985	70.3	2015–2020	75.1

Source: UN World Population Prospects^[17]

Ethnic groups^[18]

• Kuwaiti 41.4%, other Arab 21.4%, Asian (mostly South Asian) 35.3%, African 1%, other 0.7% (includes European, North American, South American, and Australian) (2018 est.)

Languages^[18]

• Arabic (official)
• English spoken widely

Religion^[18]

• Muslim (official) 74.6%
• Christian 18.2%
• Other and Unspecified 7.2%

See also

• Religion in Kuwait
• Expatriates in Kuwait

References

1. "Kuwait steps up deportations of expat workers". 29 April 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
2. . Government of Kuwait. 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
3. World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision February 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
4. "THE BEDOONS OF KUWAIT Citizens without Citizenship". Human Rights Watch.
5. "Kuwait's humanitarian disaster Inter-generational erasure, ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Bedoon". OHCHR. 2019.
6. "No Dignity for Kuwait's 'Humanitarian' State - Kuwaiti's Laws and Policies of Ethnic Discrimination, Erasure and Genocide Against The Bedoon Minority Submission on 'Human Rights Protections for Minorities Recognised in the UN System'". Susan Kennedy Nour al Deen. 2020.
7. "Kuwait Bedoon - Special Rapporteurs, United Nations, Requesting Investigation of Kuwait's Treatment of the Bedoon". Un Special Procedures Request. January 2019.
8. "Government of United Kingdom". "The Kuwaiti Bedoon`s continued exclusion from nationality can only be understood in the light of the power struggle in a system which was largely based on sectarianism and tribalism within newly emerging emirates striving to assert their legitimacy and authority. The majority of the Bedoon are in fact an extended branch of tribes across the borders between Iraq, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia and are largely of the Muslim Shi'ite faith".
9. "State formation of Kuwait" (PDF). p. 83.
10. "Exploring the perceptions of informed individuals about the education provisions of Bidoun in Kuwait". p. 13.
11. Eman Shams Aldeen (September 19, 2012). "البدون فــي الكويـــت.. مواطنون بلا هوية". As-Safir Al-Arabi (in Arabic).
12. "כוויית: עושר רב לצד מתחים אתניים ודיכוי". Israel Hayom (in Hebrew).
13. "World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision". Retrieved 24 October 2018.
14. [1] United nations. Demographic Yearbooks
15. [2] 2013-03-09 at the Wayback Machine Central Statistical Bureau
16. . Archived from the original on 2004-09-21. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
17. "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 2017-07-15.
18. "Middle East ::KUWAIT". CIA The World Factbook. 6 October 2022.