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

Health

live 11.5 years longer

In Tonga, the average life expectancy is 73 years (70 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 85 years (84 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 45.2% less likely to be obese

In Tonga, 73.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 40.4% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 5.0 times more spent on your healthcare

Tonga spends $512 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kuwait spends $2,567 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 2.2 times more doctors per person

Tonga has 10.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Kuwait has 22.7 as of 2020.

View global rankings →

have 36.8% more access to essential health services

Tonga scores 57 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Kuwait scores 78 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 51.2% less likely to die by suicide

Tonga has a suicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kuwait, it is 2.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

make 4.9 times more money

Tonga has a GDP per capita of $6,547 as of 2025, while in Kuwait, the GDP per capita is $32,312 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

be 88.1% less likely to die during childbirth

In Tonga, approximately 67.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Kuwait, 8.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 10.3% less likely to die during infancy

In Tonga, approximately 7.8 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.

View global rankings →

have 56.5% fewer children

In Tonga, there are approximately 23.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kuwait, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 48.3% more likely to have internet access

In Tonga, approximately 67.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Kuwait, about 100.0% do as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 32.6% less on healthcare

Tonga spends 7.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

spend 21.3% more on education

Tonga spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Kuwait spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 19.1% more coastline

Tonga has a total of 419 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 73.7% less likely to be murdered

Tonga 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.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 87.6% less home broadband

Tonga has 8.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Kuwait has 1.0 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Environment

be 87.5% more likely to die from air pollution

In Tonga, air pollution causes 24.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kuwait, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

emit 14.5 times more CO2

Tonga emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait emits 23.7 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), 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.
Read more

How big is Kuwait compared to Tonga? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Kuwait or Tonga. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.