Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kuwait instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
live 3.3 years longer
In Maldives, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 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 12.2% more spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kuwait spends $2,567 as of 2023.
have 27.9% more access to essential health services
Maldives scores 61 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Kuwait scores 78 as of 2021.
be 2.3 times more likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 40.4% of people as of 2024.
be 57.1% more likely to die by suicide
Maldives has a suicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kuwait, it is 2.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 51.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Maldives, 4.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Kuwait, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
make 2.2 times more money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in Kuwait, the GDP per capita is $32,312 as of 2025.
Life
be 75.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Maldives, approximately 32.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Kuwait, 8.0 women do as of 2023.
be 48.9% more likely to die during infancy
In Maldives, approximately 4.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Kuwait, on the other hand, 7.0 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 17.3% more likely to have internet access
In Maldives, approximately 85.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Kuwait, about 100.0% do as of 2025.
Expenditures
spend 46.4% less on healthcare
Maldives spends 9.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 24.6% more on education
Maldives spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Kuwait spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 22.5% less coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.
Safety
be 59.7% less likely to be murdered
Maldives has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kuwait, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 7.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kuwait, they kill 9.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 94.9% less home broadband
Maldives has 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kuwait has 1.0 as of 2023.
live with 245.7 times more strain on fresh water
Maldives withdraws 16% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Kuwait withdraws 3850% as of 2022.
Environment
be 55.2% more likely to die from air pollution
In Maldives, air pollution causes 29.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kuwait, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.
emit 6.6 times more CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait emits 23.7 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. Kuwait
Kuwait: At a glance
How big is Kuwait compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.