Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kuwait instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:
Health
live 5.6 years longer
In Saudi Arabia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (77 years for men, 81 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 26.1% less spent on your healthcare
Saudi Arabia spends $3,475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kuwait spends $2,567 as of 2023.
have 33.3% fewer doctors per person
Saudi Arabia has 34.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Kuwait has 22.7 as of 2020.
be 2.4 times more likely to die by suicide
Saudi Arabia has a suicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kuwait, it is 2.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 28.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Saudi Arabia, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Kuwait, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
Life
be 48.9% more likely to die during infancy
In Saudi Arabia, 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.
have 39.3% fewer children
In Saudi Arabia, there are approximately 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kuwait, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 12.8% less on healthcare
Saudi Arabia spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 43.7% more on education
Saudi Arabia spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Kuwait spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 81.1% less coastline
Saudi Arabia has a total of 2,640 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.
Safety
be 73.4% less likely to be murdered
Saudi Arabia has a homicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kuwait, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 50.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In Saudi Arabia, road accidents kill 18.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kuwait, they kill 9.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 38.5% more electricity
Saudi Arabia uses 11,911 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Kuwait uses 16,496 kWh as of 2023.
find 97.7% less home broadband
Saudi Arabia has 44.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kuwait has 1.0 as of 2023.
live with 4.0 times more strain on fresh water
Saudi Arabia withdraws 974% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Kuwait withdraws 3850% as of 2022.
Environment
be 50.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Saudi Arabia, air pollution causes 91.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kuwait, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.
emit 28.1% more CO2
Saudi Arabia emits 18.5 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), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Saudi Arabia vs. Kuwait
Kuwait: At a glance
How big is Kuwait compared to Saudi Arabia? See an in-depth size comparison.