Kuwait has a wealthy, relatively open economy, with its gross domestic product standing at $165.9 billion, real growth rate at 6.3 percent, and per capita GDP at $43,800 in 2012.
It has crude oil reserves of about 102 billion barrels ― about 14.8 percent of the world’s oil reserves. As Kuwait is one of the world’s largest oil producers, oil and oil-related products naturally would dominate its economy, taking up more than half of its GDP.
Kuwait produces 3.1 million barrels of oil per day. Still, its government seeks to increase oil production to as much as 4 million barrels per day by 2020. The rise in global oil prices in 2011 and 2012 is boosting government expenditure and economic growth.
In 2010, Kuwait adopted an economic development plan to spend up to $130 billion over five years in a bid to diversify its economy from oil, attract more investment and increase private-sector economic participation, particularly in such areas as technology, education and health care and alongside the older and better established sectors.
Kuwait also seeks to become a regional financial and trade center and its government has embarked on an ambitious five-year plan to accomplish it. Though some of the required infrastructure has been built, much remains to be done, and the government is accelerating the execution of large projects alongside GCC-wide schemes such as the $25 billion GCC railway network.
Exports from Kuwait reached $109.4 billion last year, and most of its exported items are oil and refined products and fertilizers. Its top export partners were South Korea (17.7 percent), India (15.3 percent), Japan (13.7 percent), China (9.6 percent) and the U.S. (8.4 percent).
Imports amounted to $24.1 billion, and most of the imported items are food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, and clothing. Its largest import partners were the U.S. (12.4 percent), China (9.7 percent), Saudi Arabia (8.4 percent), South Korea (6.5 percent), India (6.4 percent), Japan (6.2 percent), Germany (5 percent) and the United Arab Emirates (4.3 percent).
