Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kuwait instead of Norway, you would:
Health
live 1.4 years longer
In Norway, the average life expectancy is 83 years (82 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 85 years (84 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.
be 82.5% less likely to die by suicide
Norway has a suicide rate of 13.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kuwait, it is 2.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 2.0 times more likely to be obese
In Norway, 20.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 40.4% of people as of 2024.
see 73.0% less spent on your healthcare
Norway spends $9,523 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kuwait spends $2,567 as of 2023.
have 54.3% fewer doctors per person
Norway has 49.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Kuwait has 22.7 as of 2020.
have 10.3% less access to essential health services
Norway scores 87 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Kuwait scores 78 as of 2021.
Economy
be 53.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Norway, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Kuwait, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
make 65.8% less money
Norway has a GDP per capita of $94,594 as of 2025, while in Kuwait, the GDP per capita is $32,312 as of 2025.
Life
be 8.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Norway, approximately 1.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Kuwait, 8.0 women do as of 2023.
be 3.5 times more likely to die during infancy
In Norway, approximately 2.0 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.
Expenditures
spend 47.4% less on healthcare
Norway spends 9.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 18.6% more on education
Norway spends 5.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Kuwait spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 98.0% less coastline
Norway has a total of 25,148 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.
Safety
be 65.3% less likely to be murdered
Norway 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 6.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Norway, road accidents kill 1.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kuwait, they kill 9.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 97.8% less home broadband
Norway has 45.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kuwait has 1.0 as of 2023.
live with 1887.5 times more strain on fresh water
Norway withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Kuwait withdraws 3850% as of 2022.
use 30.3% less electricity
Norway uses 23,673 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait uses 16,496 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 5.6 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Norway, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kuwait, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.
emit 3.3 times more CO2
Norway emits 7.2 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: Norway vs. Kuwait
Kuwait: At a glance
How big is Kuwait compared to Norway? See an in-depth size comparison.