If you lived in Kazakhstan instead of Kuwait, you would:

Health

be 47.8% less likely to be obese

In Kuwait, 40.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kazakhstan, that number is 21.1% of people as of 2024.

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have 65.2% more doctors per person

Kuwait has 22.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Kazakhstan has 37.5 as of 2023.

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live 10.0 years less

In Kuwait, the average life expectancy is 85 years (84 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Kazakhstan, that number is 75 years (70 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 43.1% less spent on your healthcare

Kuwait spends $2,567 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kazakhstan spends $1,460 as of 2023.

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be 6.3 times more likely to die by suicide

Kuwait has a suicide rate of 2.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kazakhstan, it is 14.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 2.2 times more likely to be unemployed

In Kuwait, 2.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Kazakhstan, that number is 4.8% as of 2025.

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make 54.5% less money

Kuwait has a GDP per capita of $32,312 as of 2025, while in Kazakhstan, the GDP per capita is $14,692 as of 2025.

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Life

have 94.8% more children

In Kuwait, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kazakhstan, there are 19.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 25.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Kuwait, approximately 8.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Kazakhstan, 10.0 women do as of 2023.

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Expenditures

spend 24.5% less on education

Kuwait spends 6.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Kazakhstan spends 4.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 24.0% less on healthcare

Kuwait spends 5.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kazakhstan, that number is 3.8% of GDP as of 2023.

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Safety

be 10.2 times more likely to be murdered

Kuwait has a homicide rate of 0.2 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Kazakhstan, that number is 2.5 per 100,000 as of 2022.

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be 32.6% more likely to die in a road accident

In Kuwait, road accidents kill 9.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kazakhstan, they kill 12.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 15.2 times more home broadband

Kuwait has 1.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Kazakhstan has 15.3 as of 2024.

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live with 99.1% less strain on fresh water

Kuwait withdraws 3850% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Kazakhstan withdraws 35% as of 2022.

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use 68.8% less electricity

Kuwait uses 16,496 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Kazakhstan uses 5,146 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

emit 46.9% less CO2

Kuwait emits 23.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kazakhstan emits 12.6 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 51.1% more likely to die from air pollution

In Kuwait, air pollution causes 45.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kazakhstan, it causes 68.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Kazakhstan: At a glance

Kazakhstan is a sovereign country in Central Asia, with a total land area of approximately 2,699,700 sq km. Ethnic Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated to the region by the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-ethnic Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Non-Muslim ethnic minorities departed Kazakhstan in large numbers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s and a national program has repatriated about a million ethnic Kazakhs back to Kazakhstan. These trends have allowed Kazakhs to become the titular majority again. This dramatic demographic shift has also undermined the previous religious diversity and made the country more than 70 percent Muslim. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states largely due to the country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; managing Islamic revivalism; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness; developing a multiparty parliament and advancing political and social reform; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers.
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