Kuwait
Saudi ArabiaCompare countries · Kuwait vs Saudi Arabia
Kuwait vs Saudi Arabia
KuwaitWestern Asia
Saudi ArabiaWestern Asia
The FCDO advises against all travel to parts of Saudi Arabia and all but essential travel to other areas.Kuwait is cheaper (cost of living 42.5 vs 43.9), more peaceful (Global Peace Index 1.813 vs 2.067) and has the higher income per person ($41,110 vs $36,070).It also has the longer life expectancy (84.6 vs 79.0 years).Saudi Arabia scores higher on human development (0.900 vs 0.852).
Kuwait is the more peaceful
- Global Peace Indexlower is more peaceful
- Kuwait1.813High safety#49 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Saudi Arabia2.067Medium safety#94 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Homicidesper 100,000 people a year
- Kuwait0.2Very lowUNODC / World Bank · 2020
- Saudi Arabia0.9LowUNODC / World Bank · 2019
- Safety indexNumbeo's safety index, higher is safer
- Kuwait67.4HighNumbeo · 2026
- Saudi Arabia76.7Very highNumbeo · 2026
- UK travel adviceFCDO, for British travellers
- KuwaitNo advice against travelFCDO foreign travel advice, GOV.UK · read 2026-10-29
- Saudi ArabiaAgainst all travel to parts, all but essential to other areasFCDO foreign travel advice, GOV.UK · read 2026-10-29
Income per person is higher in Kuwait
- GNI per personnational income per person, US dollars
- Kuwait$41,110Very highWorld Bank · 2024
- Saudi Arabia$36,070Very highWorld Bank · 2025
People live longer in Kuwait
- Life expectancyyears, at birth
- Kuwait84.6Very high#3 of 195World Bank · 2024
- Saudi Arabia79.0High#45 of 195World Bank · 2024
Broadband is faster in Kuwait
- Home internetmedian download speed
- Kuwait225 MbpsVery fast#22 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
- Saudi Arabia164 MbpsVery fast#43 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
Human development: Saudi Arabia 0.900, Kuwait 0.852
KuwaitSaudi Arabia
UNDP Human Development Report, 1990–2023.
Year by year:KuwaitSaudi Arabia
Practical facts
- Capital
- Kuwait City
- Riyadh
- Population
- 4.9M (2025)
- 37.0M (2025)
- Languages
- Arabic
- Arabic
- Currency
- Kuwaiti dinar (KWD)
- Saudi riyal (SAR)
- Area
- 17,820 km²
- 2,149,690 km²
- Plug type
- Type G
- Type G
- Drives on the
- right
- right
- Short visit
- Visa-free for UK, EU and US passports
- Visa-free for UK, EU and US passports
Short visits: passport-index-dataset, 2024, for UK, EU (German) and US passports. Population and area: World Bank. Languages, currency and driving side: restcountries.com. Plug types: worldstandards.eu.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, side by side
Kuwait leads on 22 Saudi Arabia on 316 level97 figures. 7 are held for only one country; the other shows a dash. Rows such as population, religion and tax levels have no better or worse end, so they show both values and no verdict. Level means under 2% apart.
Money and cost22
- PPP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $56,468High
- $73,784High
- GDP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- $32,312High
- $34,537Very high
- GNI / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- $41,110Very high
- $36,070Very high
- Local purchasing power aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 176.6Very high
- 132.8Very high
- Cost of Living aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 42.5Affordable
- 43.9Affordable
- Cost of living with rent aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 33.3Moderate
- 30.4Moderate
- Rent index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 22.0Expensive
- 13.5Moderate
- Groceries index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 35.8Low
- 41.2Moderate
- Restaurant prices index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 43.4High
- 34.5Moderate
- Property Price-to-Income aheadNumbeo Property Investment · 2026
- 6.5Very affordable
- 4.3Very affordable
- Price level ratio aheadWorld Bank ICP
- 1.017High
- 0.849Moderate
- Inflation aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- 2.4%Moderate
- 2.1%Low
- Pension ReplacementOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
- —
- 70.2%High
- Bank Account aheadWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 74.5%Moderate
- 78.8%Moderate
- Send Remittance aheadWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- 2.4%Low
- 4.5%High
- Top Income TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 0%
- 0%
- Corporate TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 16%
- 15%
- VAT / GSTWikipedia · 2024
- 0%
- 15%
- Tax RevenueWorld Bank · 2024
- —
- 8.1%
- GDP (total)World Bank · 2025
- $157 bn
- $1,277 bn
- FDI InflowsWorld Bank · 2025
- 0.3%
- 2.6%
- Innovation aheadWIPO Global Innovation Index · 2025
- 28.2Moderate
- 36High
Work1
- UnemploymentWorld Bank · 2025
- 2.2%
- 3%
Equality1
- Gender Inequality aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.188Low
- 0.228Low
Safety9
- Peace Index aheadIEP Global Peace Index · 2026
- 1.813High safety
- 2.067Medium safety
- Safety aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 67.4High
- 76.7Very high
- Homicides / 100k aheadUNODC / World Bank · 2019–2020
- 0.2Very low
- 0.9Low
- Assault Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2009–2019
- 24.5Moderate
- 62High
- Robbery Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2009–2019
- 23.5Moderate
- 0.44Very low
- Sexual Violence Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2009–2019
- 18.2Moderate
- 2.2Very low
- Kidnapping Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2009–2019
- 12.8Very high
- 0.20Low
- Road Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 9.2Low
- 18.5High
- Disaster Risk aheadWorld Risk Index · 2022
- 2.6Low
- 9.6High
Health16
- Life Expectancy aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 84.6Very high
- 79.0High
- Infant Mortality aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 7Low
- 4.7Low
- Healthcare Quality aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 58.6Fair
- 62.2Fair
- UHC Service CoverageLevelWHO GHO · 2023
- 84Very high
- 83Very high
- Physicians / 1k aheadWorld Bank · 2020–2023
- 2.3Moderate
- 3.4High
- Hospital Beds aheadWorld Bank · 2020–2023
- 2.3Moderate
- 2.4Moderate
- Out-of-Pocket Health % aheadWorld Bank · 2023
- 10%Very low
- 14.1%Low
- Healthcare SpendWorld Bank · 2023
- $1,679
- $1,825
- Clean WaterLevelWorld Bank · 2024
- 100%Very high
- 99%High
- PM2.5 concentration aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 48.8Very high
- 43.9Very high
- Air-pollution Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 39Low
- 45.5Low
- ObesityLevelWHO GHO · 2024
- 40.4%Very high
- 40.1%Very high
- Tobacco Use aheadWHO GHO · 2010–2023
- 24.7%High
- 18.4%Moderate
- Raised Blood Glucose aheadWHO GHO · 2014
- 19.6%Very high
- 17.4%Very high
- Suicide Rate / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 2.3Very low
- 0.90Very low
- Alcohol L / capitaWHO GHO · 2024
- 0.100
- —
Education and getting online8
- PISA MathOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 389Low
- PISA ReadingOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 383Low
- PISA ScienceOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 390Very low
- Education SpendWorld Bank · 2023–2024
- 6.4%
- 4.5%
- English Proficiency aheadEF English Proficiency Index · 2025
- 455Low
- 404Very low
- InternetLevelWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 100%Very high
- 100%Very high
- Home internet speed aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 225 MbpsVery fast
- 164 MbpsVery fast
- Mobile internet speed aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 380 MbpsVery high
- 227 MbpsVery high
Governance and freedom8
- Rule of Law aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.20High
- 0.27High
- Corruption aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.28High
- 0.81High
- Political Stability aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.42High
- 0.02Moderate
- Government Effectiveness aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.26High
- 0.74High
- Regulatory Quality aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- 0.36High
- 0.67High
- Democracy aheadEIU Democracy Index · 2025
- 2.8Low
- 2.1Very low
- Freedom House aheadFreedom House · 2025
- 30Low
- 9Very low
- Press Freedom aheadRSF World Press Freedom Index · 2026
- 40.4Problematic
- 19.1Very serious
Quality of life10
- Human Development aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.852Very high
- 0.900Very high
- Happiness aheadWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 6.54Moderate
- 6.82Moderate
- Quality of life indexLevelNumbeo · 2026
- 162.7High
- 165.3High
- Climate index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 20.2Very poor
- 38.6Poor
- WHR: GDPWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.862
- 1.949
- WHR: Social SupportWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.316
- 1.412
- WHR: Healthy Life Exp.World Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.880
- 0.831
- WHR: FreedomWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.031
- 1.042
- WHR: GenerosityWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.110
- 0.096
- WHR: Corruption TrustWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.167
- 0.196
People and planet20
- PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 4,865,298
- 36,973,555
- AreaWorld Bank
- 17,820 km²
- 2,149,690 km²
- Median AgeWorld Bank age-group shares
- 35.3
- 33
- Population GrowthWorld Bank · 2025
- -0.65%
- 4.63%
- Urban PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 100%
- 84.6%
- Net MigrationWorld Bank · 2025
- 42,775
- 119,738
- Foreign-Born %UN DESA International Migrant Stock · 2024
- 67.3%
- 40.3%
- Fertility RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 1.56
- 2.31
- ChristianPew Research · 2020
- 10.5%
- 4.4%
- MuslimPew Research · 2020
- 80.2%
- 92.7%
- HinduPew Research · 2020
- 8.5%
- 2.6%
- BuddhistPew Research · 2020
- 0.1%
- 0.1%
- JewishPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 0%
- UnaffiliatedPew Research · 2020
- 0.2%
- 0.1%
- Other religionsPew Research · 2020
- 0.3%
- 0.1%
- CO₂ / Capita aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 23.7Very high
- 18.5Very high
- RenewablesLevelWorld Bank · 2021
- 0.1%Very low
- 0.1%Very low
- Forest CoverWorld Bank · 2023
- 0.4%
- 0.5%
- Climate Vulnerability aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.362Low
- 0.408Moderate
- Climate Readiness aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.470High
- 0.573Very high
Other2
- LiteracyWorld Bank · 2020–2024
- 96.5%
- 97.9%
- Mobile MoneyWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- —
- 36.5%
Quick answers
Is Kuwait cheaper than Saudi Arabia?
Numbeo's 2026 cost-of-living index (NYC = 100) puts Kuwait at 42.5 and Saudi Arabia at 43.9. Kuwait is about 3% cheaper overall.
Is Kuwait or Saudi Arabia safer?
On the Global Peace Index (lower = more peaceful), Kuwait scores 1.81 and Saudi Arabia scores 2.07. Kuwait ranks as the more peaceful of the two.
Which has the higher quality of life, Kuwait or Saudi Arabia?
On the UN Human Development Index, Kuwait scores 0.852 and Saudi Arabia scores 0.900. Saudi Arabia scores higher on this composite of income, health and education. Single indexes hide trade-offs; the full comparison above shows where each country wins.
What is life like in Kuwait compared to Saudi Arabia?
GNI per capita runs $41,110 in Kuwait against $36,070 in Saudi Arabia; people live 84.6 years on average against 79.0; Numbeo users rate healthcare 59 against 62. Those are national averages and they hide the thing you actually feel: capital-city costs run well ahead of the national figure in most countries, and rural provision of healthcare and internet often lags the number shown here. The table below splits it indicator by indicator.