Countries · Middle East
Kuwait
Kuwait has one of the largest current account surpluses in the world relative to its economy, invested abroad through the Kuwait Investment Authority.
At a glance
Net inflows of foreign direct investment were $0.41bn in 2025, against an average of $0.38bn a year in 2015–2024. Investors based in Kuwait put a net $2.99bn into direct investment abroad in the same year, more than Kuwait received. Foreign investors were net buyers of $3.56bn of shares in Kuwait in 2025. Kuwait ran a current account surplus in every year shown, which means it was a net lender to the rest of the world. Investors in Kuwait held $73.0bn of US Treasury securities at the end of August 2026, +$13.8bn on a year earlier, and $422.6bn of US shares.
The Kuwait Investment Authority, whose origins go back to 1953, is one of the oldest sovereign wealth funds. Kuwait receives very little foreign direct investment.
Kuwait's holdings of US securities
Treasuries, shares and bonds issued in the US and held by investors in Kuwait.
Holdings of US securities
End of month, Aug 2025 to Aug 2026, $bn.
Net purchases of long-term US securities
Each month, $bn. Positive means net buying.
The US Treasury records holdings by the country where securities are held in custody, which is not always the owner's country. Why this matters.
Direct and equity investment
Annual net flows, $bn. Direct investment means building or buying businesses; portfolio equity means buying listed shares and fund units.
Net flows by year
Direct investment into and out of Kuwait, and foreign buying of its shares, $bn.
Current account and reserves
The balance of trade and income with the rest of the world, and the reserves held by the central bank.
Current account balance
Each year, $bn. A surplus means the country lends to the rest of the world.
Foreign exchange reserves, including gold
End of year, $bn.
The economy
GDP
Current US dollars, $bn. Dollar figures also move with exchange rates.
Growth and inflation
Real GDP growth and consumer price inflation, per cent.
All figures
Annual figures from the World Bank, as published. Download them for every country on the data page.
| Indicator | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (m) | 3.83 | 4.00 | 4.15 | 4.32 | 4.44 | 4.40 | 4.36 | 4.59 | 4.85 | 4.90 | 4.87 |
| GDP ($bn) | 114.6 | 109.4 | 120.7 | 138.6 | 140.9 | 111.0 | 148.4 | 183.5 | 165.5 | 160.9 | 157.2 |
| GDP per person ($) | 29,882 | 27,324 | 29,048 | 32,068 | 31,708 | 25,236 | 34,019 | 39,982 | 34,092 | 32,856 | 32,312 |
| Real GDP growth (%) | 0.6 | 2.9 | −4.7 | 2.7 | 2.3 | −4.8 | 1.7 | 6.8 | −1.6 | −1.5 | 2.7 |
| Inflation (%) | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
| Current account ($bn) | 8.58 | 0.64 | 7.76 | 24.05 | 30.25 | 22.03 | 34.94 | 63.08 | 51.40 | 46.70 | 35.68 |
| Current account (% GDP) | 7.5 | 0.6 | 6.4 | 17.3 | 21.5 | 19.8 | 23.6 | 34.4 | 31.1 | 29.0 | 22.7 |
| Reserves incl. gold ($bn) | 31.0 | 33.9 | 36.9 | 40.3 | 43.7 | 52.9 | 49.5 | 52.5 | 52.6 | 50.7 | 51.7 |
| Direct investment in ($bn) | 0.28 | 0.29 | 0.11 | −0.02 | 0.52 | −0.56 | −0.27 | 0.75 | 2.11 | 0.61 | 0.41 |
| Direct investment out ($bn) | 5.44 | 6.40 | 7.04 | 2.97 | 4.68 | 3.15 | −2.24 | 24.55 | 11.20 | 10.32 | 2.99 |
| Portfolio equity in ($bn) | 0.00 | −0.03 | 0.41 | 0.41 | 0.17 | 0.24 | −1.95 | 1.21 | −0.37 | 0.37 | 3.56 |
| Remittances ($bn) | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.81 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
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