• General State of the Economy
• Energy Resources
• Energy Balance
• Energy Infrastructure
• Education and Innovation
• Ecology and Environment Protection
• References

Source: [1,2,3.4.5]

According to 2023 statistics Kuwait, which in terms of size is placed 158^th in the world, is home to more than 4,3 million people. In terms of population density, the country is 59^th in the world from 249 countries considered [1,2,3]. The length of the coastline is 499 km [3].

High-angle shot of The Green Island with a skyline of the city of Kuwait in the background. Envato Elements. JR43SMZXDT

The political form of government is constitutional monarchy, the official language is Arabic. The administrative map of the country is divided into 6 governorates [3].
Oil and gas resources are the main source of income and economic growth of Kuwait. For seven out of 9 indices the positioning of the country is higher than the world average, in the top half of the graph (i.e. among 50% of the best countries in the world included in the rating), however, in terms of high-technology exports and the annual GDP growth, the country is below the world average (figure 1).

Kuwait has significant reserves of fossil fuel resources (Table 1). According to proven reserves of oil and natural gas, the country is ranked 6^th and 19^th in the world, respectively [3]. According to data for 2024, in terms of tons of oil equivalent, proved oil reserves amounted to 89.6 %, natural gas – 10.4% (Figure 5).
According to [3,6], in 2021 the proven oil reserves in Kuwait were estimated to be at 101.5 billion barrels. In terms of this indicator Kuwait is second only to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran in the region. At current production levels oil reserves in Kuwait could last for more than 100 years. Kuwait is an active participant in the organization of oil exporters (OPEC), where the share of its reserves is 8.4% of the total reserves of the participating countries [7].

Table 1. Fossil energy resources of Kuwait

*share of the country’s reserves in world total is provided in brackets

Proven natural gas reserves in Kuwait in 2021 according to [3,6] were 1.784 - 1.7 Tcm, which at current production levels natural gas reserves in the country could last for approximately 106 years.
Kuwait’s total primary energy supply (TPES) in 2024 was fully provided by fossil fuels - oil and gas, and the volume of oil supplies significantly exceeded the volume of gas supplies according to data from [8].
Due to its geographical position Kuwait has quite good reserves of such renewable energy sources as solar and wind. A selection of basic indicators of this type of resource is presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Renewable energy resources of Kuwait

 *for the majority of the territory of the country

The level of direct solar irradiation for the majority of the country is 5.0-5.5 kWh/m²/day [9].
The distribution of wind resources is as follows: for the majority of the country the wind speed is 6.5-7.0 m/s, and in the east of the country in the area of El-Kuwait it reaches a maximum mark of 7.5-8.9 m/s at an altitude of 50 metres [10].
About only 8.4% of the territory of Kuwait was covered by agricultural land in 2022 [11], and this area has been increasing slightly over the last half century; while 0.4% is forested [12].
The level of municipal waste generation in Kuwait is 1.55 kg per capita per day; this is substantially higher than, for example, in Saudi Arabia (1.40 kg per capita per day), and Qatar (1.27 kg per capita per day).

KUWAIT, ALI AL SALEM
Latitude: 29.33 Longitude: 47.52

Average daily sky coverage over 10 years of observations, %

Source: based on NOAA U.S. Department of Commerce
Detailed information: Interactive map of solar resources

KUWAIT, ALI AL SALEM
Latitude: 29.33 Longitude: 47.52
Average speed: 4.96 m/s, Operational share: 79%

Average daily wind speed for 10 years of observations, m/s, 10 m above the ground

Source: based on NOAA U.S. Department of Commerce
Detailed information: Interactive map of wind resources

According to the Statistical Review of World Energy 2024, primary energy consumption in Kuwait in 2023 was 1.58 Exajoule, and was dominated by oil - 51.3%, followed by natural gas 48.1%, and coal – 0.6% [6].
According to [15], in 2022 in country, the total production of primary energy was 7.126 quadrillion Btu, while consumption was at the level of 1.716 quadrillion Btu. Thus, the share of domestic consumption in primary energy production was 24,1%. This makes Kuwait a country independent of energy imports (without taking into account the structure of energy consumption).
Kuwait is the 9^th largest oil producer in the world [3]. Oil production between 2001 and 2019 grew, with annual fluctuations, and in 20233 amounted to 2,906 thousand barrels/day [15]. The volume of oil consumption in the country since 2001 has shown a steady growth (Fig. 2), and in 2023 it was 430 thousand barrels/day [15].
The Energy Institute reported oil production in Kuwait in 2023 as being 2 908 thousand barrels/day with consumption was at 411 thousand barrels/day [6].

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Sep 2024) / www.eia.gov

Figure 2. The production and consumption of fossil fuels in Kuwait (left – coal, in the center – gas, right – oil)

Oil exports from Kuwait in 2018 amounted to 1,838 million barrels/day, the main destination being Asia-Pacific (66%) [14,16].
Gas production in the country grew similarly to oil consumption, reaching 678 Bcf in 2023. Gas consumption in the period from 2001 also showed an increase, and by 2023 it reached 928 Bcf [15]. According to the Statistical Review of World Energy 204 [6], gas production in 2023 was 13.5 Bcm, while consumption was 22.5 Bcm. Kuwait imports LNG mainly from Qatar and Nigeria [14].
Between 2010 and 2020, coal consumption rose sharply from a level of 0.10 to 281 thousand short tons in 2019, falling again to 52 thousand short tons in 2023 [15].
For electricity production Kuwait almost completely relies on fossil fuel resources (Fig.3).

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration the country produced 85.56 TWh of electricity in 2023, where fossil fuels accounted for 97.8%, non-hydro renewable 2.2% (Fig.6).
Kuwait's position in the comparative diagram of energy index is shown in Fig. 4. Kuwait is at the top of the list of countries in terms of production/consumption of oil, however, having significant gas resources, in terms of its production/consumption ratio, the country is below the world average.

In terms of electricity consumption per capita, the country was 5^th in the world, however, for the indicator of combination of electricity production-consumption, Kuwait is 40^th is the world.
It should also be noted that Kuwait has a significant excess in the volume of electricity production compared to its consumption.

A territorial map of the distribution of the largest infrastructure projects of the fossil-fuel sector in Kuwait is shown in Figure 5. In the total potential of fossil energy resources, oil plays the predominant role – 89.6%, gas amounts to 10.4%. The main gas fields are concentrated in the North of Kuwait, and the country also plans to develop the Dorra offshore field, which could bring the country an additional 500-800 MMcf/day (Figure 5) [14].

Oil tanker in the sea. Envato Elements. RXKQG679WZ

Gas is imported into the country via the Mina Al-Ahmadi LNG terminal, managed by KNPC, which has a capacity of 5.8 Mtpa [17]. Transportation of gas, condensate and gas condensate within the country is carried via a network of pipelines with a total length of 261 km (Figure 5). Greater Burgan is considered to be one of the leading oil fields in the country and in the world, the production of which can reach about 1.7 million bbl/day, according to [14].

Figure 5. Basic infrastructure facilities of the fossil fuel sector in Kuwait (click on the map to view a PDF version)

In 2023, Kuwait refineries had a total installed capacity of 1415 thousand barrels/day [18]. The largest being Mina Al-Ahmadi, KNPC with an installed capacity of 466 000 bbl/day [14] (Fig.5). Oil and petroleum products are exported via 4 oil terminals, and crude oil and petroleum products are transported via pipelines with a total length of 540 km and 57 km, respectively (Fig. 5).
A map of the territorial distribution of Kuwait’s largest infrastructure facilities for electricity generation is presented in Figure 6.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the share of fossil fuels in energy production in Kuwait in 2023 was about 98% (Fig.6).
The country has a significant number of power plants for the production of electricity from fossil fuels, including power plants with a capacity of over 100 MW, one oil power plant, four power plants, and three combined type power plant (Fig. 6).

Figure 6. Electricity production and renewable energy in Kuwait (click on the map to view a PDF version)

The largest power plants in Kuwait are: Az-Zour North gas power plant, with a capacity of 1,631 MW, Doha West oil power plant, with an installed capacity of 2541 MW, and Sabiya combined type power plant with an installed capacity of 5866 MW [19].
As already noted above, the country has sufficient potential for generating electricity by means of photovoltaics – the level of direct solar radiation in certain parts of the country can reach 5.5 kWh/m²/day[9]. This technology has not yet received visible development. However, since 2016, a PV power plant with an installed capacity of 10 MW has been operating not far from the Umm Gudair oil field [20]. Kuwait has developed a new strategy aimed at including renewable energy in its energy mix and installing 22 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030. In addition to large-scale projects, the strategy will allow Kuwaiti citizens to install solar panels on their roofs and sell surplus energy to the state [21].

The set of indices reflecting the position of Kuwait among other countries in the field of education and innovation can be seen in Figure 7.
Kuwait is 71^st out of 133 countries considered in the ranking of countries of the Global Innovation Index 2024 (see diagram). According to the indicator for the number of patents granted (2011-2020) to Kuwait residents, both inside the country and abroad, the country is ranked 85^th out of 185 countries considered.
In terms of government expenditure on education as a percentage of the country's GDP, the country demonstrates a result above the world average – 36^th out of 177 countries considered. As a result, a number of universities of Kuwait were included in the 2025 QS University Rating.
In terms of government expenditure on research and development as a percentage of the country's GDP, Kuwait is 97^th behind a number of European countries, Oman and Algeria. However, Kuwait is well positioned when considering the number of publications of specialists in scientific and technological journal and patent activities. The country is also among the leaders in the region in terms of the number of Internet users.
 

The diagram of environmental indices presented in Figure 8 to some extent reflects the ecological situation in the country, which in the case of Kuwait is extremely negative.
First of all, the country demonstrates a relatively high level of CO₂ emissions in general and per capita. It is also necessary to note the high level of methane emissions in the country. Of course, this is a consequence of the intensive extraction and use of oil and natural gas, but it is also evident that the degree of utilization of associated petroleum gas or the degree of purification of harmful emissions at industrial enterprises is insufficient.
 

[1] List of countries and dependencies by area / Wikipedia / en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependencies_by_area
[2] List_of_countries_and_territories_by_population_density / Wikipedia / en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_population_density
[3] Kuwait / The world factbook / Library / Central Intelligence Agency / https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/kuwait/#energy
[4] GDP, PPP (current international $) / World Bank, International Comparison Program database. License: CC BY-4.0 / Data / The World Bank / www.worldbank.org
[5] GDP per capita, PPP (current international $) / World Bank, International Comparison Program database. License: CC BY-4.0 / Data / The World Bank / www.worldbank.org
[6] Statistical Review of World Energy 2024 (PDF) / www.energyinst.org
[7] OPEC Share of World Crude Oil Reserves / OPEC Oil reserves / Data / Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries / www.opec.org
[8] Kuwait / Statistics / © OECD / IEA 2018, IEA Publishing, Licence: www.iea.org/t&c / International Energy Agency / www.iea.org
[9]Solar resource data obtained from the Global Solar Atlas, owned by the World Bank Group and provided by Solargis / Global Solar Atlas / globalsolaratlas.info
[10] Kuwait Wind Map / Global Wind Atlas 2.0, a free, web-based application developed, owned and operated by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in partnership with the World Bank Group, utilizing data provided by Vortex, with funding provided by the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). For additional information: globalwindatlas.info
[11] Agricultural land (% of land area) /Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. License: CC BY-4.0 / Data / The World Bank / www.worldbank.org
[12] Forest area (% of land area) /Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. License: CC BY-4.0 / Data / The World Bank / www.worldbank.org
[13] What a Waste 2.0 (PDF) /  The World Bank / www.worldbank.org
[14] Kuwait / Select Country / U.S. Energy Information Administration  / www.eia.gov/beta/international/analysis.php
[15] International Energy Statistic / Geography / U.S. Energy Information Administration  / www.eia.gov/beta/international
[16] Kuwait facts and figures / Member Countries / About Us / Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries / www.opec.org
[17] IGU 2017 World LNG Report (PDF) / Files / IGU / www.igu.org
[18] Kuwait facts and figures / Member countries / OPEC / www.opec.org/opec_web/en/index.htm / www.opec.org
[19] Electrical Energy 2017, Statistical Year Book (PDF) / Statistics / About us / Ministry of Electricity & Water of the State of Kuwait / www.mew.gov.kw
[20] Kuwait’s First Solar Power Plant Becomes Operational / November 3, 2016 / RenewableEnergy.com Editorial Team / RenewableEnergy.com / renewableenergy.com
[21] Kuwait’s New Energy Strategy Takes Off but Oil’s Still Dominant / May 14, 2024 /  Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington / agsiw.org

The sources of charts and curves are specified under the images.

For more information about the energy industry in Kuwait see here