# Kuwait and Saudi Arabia compared

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 2 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/kwt-vs-sau
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Kuwait: c. 1752 — The heads of Kuwait's families choose Sabah I as sheikh
- Saudi Arabia: 1744 — The Diriyah pact founds the First Saudi State

## Economy

| Metric | Kuwait | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $160 B | 2024 | $1.24 T | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $32,718 | 2024 | $35,122 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | -2.6% | 2024 | 2.0% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 2.9% | 2024 | 1.7% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 96.1% | 2023 | 54.7% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Kuwait | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 4.9 m | 2024 | 35 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 84.6 yrs | 2024 | 79.0 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 100.0% | 2024 | 84.5% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.6 | 2024 | 2.3 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Kuwait | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 44.3 | 2024 | 29.8 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 70.9 | 2024 | 65.1 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 57.7 | 2024 | 66.6 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 61.2 | 2024 | 66.1 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 60.9 | 2024 | 60.6 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 52.3 | 2024 | 63.1 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Kuwait | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 5.0% | 2023 | 5.7% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 2.27 | 2020 | 3.41 | 2023 |
| Under-5 mortality | 8.1 | 2024 | 6.0 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 98.0% | 2024 | 96.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 100.0% | 2024 | — | — |

## Education

| Metric | Kuwait | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 96.5% | 2020 | 97.9% | 2024 |
| Education spending | 6.4% | 2024 | 4.5% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 82.4% | 2021 | 104.0% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 95.4% | 2015 | 110.7% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 51.9% | 2021 | 83.9% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Kuwait | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.1% | 2024 | 0.6% | 2024 |
| Researchers (per million) | 145 | 2024 | 1,235 | 2024 |
| Internet users | 100.0% | 2025 | 100.0% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 168 | 2023 | 160 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 5.8% | 2024 | 0.5% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Kuwait | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 17,820 km² | 2023 | 2,149,690 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 0.4% | 2023 | 0.5% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 8.4% | 2023 | 80.8% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 23.7 | 2024 | 18.5 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Kuwait | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 29.3% | 2020 | 25.6% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 27.6% | 2020 | 23.7% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2020 | 0.2% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.0% | 2020 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Bauxite | — | — | 5.7 Mt | 2025 |
| Phosphate rock | — | — | 10 Mt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Kuwait | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 4.8% | 2024 | 7.3% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $7.8 B | 2024 | $80 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 25,000 | 2020 | 282,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/KWT.md and https://terralore.co/country/SAU.md.

## Entangled histories (2 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1891: **The Al Rashid end the Second Saudi State** — Weakened by internal feuds, the second state fell to the rival Al Rashid of Hail, who drove the Al Saud into exile in Kuwait. (from the Saudi Arabia chronicle; sources: Second Saudi state; Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
- 2 August 1990: **Iraq invades and annexes Kuwait** — About one hundred thousand Iraqi troops overran Kuwait in hours; Saddam Hussein declared the country annexed, and the ruling family fled to Saudi Arabia. (from the Kuwait chronicle; sources: The Gulf War, 1991 (Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations); The First Gulf War (Short History))

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/KWT/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SAU/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Kuwait and Saudi Arabia compared", terralore.co/compare/kwt-vs-sau, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.