Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kuwait instead of Malaysia, you would:
Health
live 7.8 years longer
In Malaysia, the average life expectancy is 77 years (74 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 85 years (84 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.
see 78.1% more spent on your healthcare
Malaysia spends $1,441 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kuwait spends $2,567 as of 2023.
be 59.1% less likely to die by suicide
Malaysia has a suicide rate of 5.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kuwait, it is 2.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 73.3% more likely to be obese
In Malaysia, 23.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 40.4% of people as of 2024.
Economy
be 42.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Malaysia, 3.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Kuwait, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
make 2.5 times more money
Malaysia has a GDP per capita of $13,125 as of 2025, while in Kuwait, the GDP per capita is $32,312 as of 2025.
Life
be 69.2% less likely to die during childbirth
In Malaysia, approximately 26.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Kuwait, 8.0 women do as of 2023.
have 18.9% fewer children
In Malaysia, there are approximately 12.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kuwait, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 83.5% more on education
Malaysia spends 3.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Kuwait spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 25.3% more on healthcare
Malaysia spends 4.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 89.3% less coastline
Malaysia has a total of 4,675 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.
Safety
be 65.8% less likely to be murdered
Malaysia has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 33.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Malaysia, road accidents kill 13.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kuwait, they kill 9.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 3.2 times more electricity
Malaysia uses 5,084 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Kuwait uses 16,496 kWh as of 2023.
find 92.5% less home broadband
Malaysia has 13.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kuwait has 1.0 as of 2023.
live with 1119.3 times more strain on fresh water
Malaysia withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Kuwait withdraws 3850% as of 2022.
Environment
be 28.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Malaysia, air pollution causes 63.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kuwait, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.8 times more CO2
Malaysia emits 8.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait emits 23.7 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Malaysia vs. Kuwait
Kuwait: At a glance
How big is Kuwait compared to Malaysia? See an in-depth size comparison.