Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Malaysia instead of Kuwait, you would:
Health
be 42.3% less likely to be obese
In Kuwait, 40.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Malaysia, that number is 23.3% of people as of 2024.
live 7.8 years less
In Kuwait, the average life expectancy is 85 years (84 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Malaysia, that number is 77 years (74 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024.
see 43.9% less spent on your healthcare
Kuwait spends $2,567 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Malaysia spends $1,441 as of 2023.
be 2.4 times more likely to die by suicide
Kuwait has a suicide rate of 2.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Malaysia, it is 5.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 72.5% more likely to be unemployed
In Kuwait, 2.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Malaysia, that number is 3.8% as of 2025.
make 59.4% less money
Kuwait has a GDP per capita of $32,312 as of 2025, while in Malaysia, the GDP per capita is $13,125 as of 2025.
Life
have 23.4% more children
In Kuwait, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Malaysia, there are 12.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 3.2 times 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 Malaysia, 26.0 women do as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 45.5% less on education
Kuwait spends 6.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Malaysia spends 3.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 20.2% less on healthcare
Kuwait spends 5.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Malaysia, that number is 4.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 9.4 times more coastline
Kuwait has a total of 499 km of coastline. In Malaysia, that number is 4,675 km.
Safety
be 2.9 times more likely to be murdered
Kuwait has a homicide rate of 0.2 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Malaysia, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 51.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In Kuwait, road accidents kill 9.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Malaysia, they kill 13.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 13.4 times more home broadband
Kuwait has 1.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Malaysia has 13.6 as of 2024.
live with 99.9% less strain on fresh water
Kuwait withdraws 3850% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Malaysia withdraws 3% as of 2022.
use 69.2% less electricity
Kuwait uses 16,496 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Malaysia uses 5,084 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 64.9% less CO2
Kuwait emits 23.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Malaysia emits 8.3 tonnes as of 2024.
be 40.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Kuwait, air pollution causes 45.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Malaysia, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Kuwait vs. Malaysia
Malaysia: At a glance
How big is Malaysia compared to Kuwait? See an in-depth size comparison.