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

Health

live 22.3 years longer

In Nauru, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 85 years (84 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 43.4% less likely to be obese

In Nauru, 71.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 40.4% of people as of 2024.

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have 30.0% more access to essential health services

Nauru scores 60 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Kuwait scores 78 as of 2021.

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Economy

make 2.2 times more money

Nauru has a GDP per capita of $14,640 as of 2025, while in Kuwait, the GDP per capita is $32,312 as of 2025.

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Life

be 97.1% less likely to die during childbirth

In Nauru, approximately 273.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Kuwait, 8.0 women do as of 2023.

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have 59.2% fewer children

In Nauru, there are approximately 24.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kuwait, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 20.5% more likely to have internet access

In Nauru, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Kuwait, about 100.0% do as of 2025.

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Expenditures

spend 72.8% less on healthcare

Nauru spends 18.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.

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spend 11.4% more on education

Nauru spends 5.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Kuwait spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

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Geography

see 16.6 times more coastline

Nauru has a total of 30 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.

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Safety

be 15.0% more likely to die in a road accident

In Nauru, road accidents kill 8.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kuwait, they kill 9.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 89.9% less home broadband

Nauru has 10.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Kuwait has 1.0 as of 2023.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Kuwait: At a glance

Kuwait is a sovereign country in Middle East, with a total land area of approximately 17,818 sq km. Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family has ruled since returning to power in 1991 and reestablished an elected legislature that in recent years has become increasingly assertive. The country witnessed the historic election in 2009 of four women to its National Assembly. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world, stateless Arabs, known as bidun, staged small protests in February and March 2011 demanding citizenship, jobs, and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Youth activist groups - supported by opposition legislators - rallied repeatedly in 2011 for the prime minister's dismissal amid allegations of widespread government corruption. Demonstrators forced the prime minister to resign in late 2011. In late 2012, Kuwait witnessed unprecedented protests in response to the Amir's changes to the electoral law by decree reducing the number of votes per person from four to one. The opposition, led by a coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribalists, some liberals, and myriad youth groups, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013 ushering in legislatures more amenable to the government's agenda. Since 2006, the Amir has dissolved the National Assembly on five occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times, usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government.
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