Population in Kuwait 2012-2019, by citizenship

According to estimates, the number of Kuwaiti citizens was about million in 2020, compared to the number of non-Kuwaiti citizens which was about million. The number of non-Kuwaiti citizens living in Kuwait has been increasing over the years.

Non-Kuwaiti citizens demographics

Kuwait is a wealthy nation with high standards of living and access to medical care. This has led to a high life expectancy. The majority of its population were non-Kuwaiti citizens who were originally from non-Arab Asian countries. The number of male foreigners living in Kuwait was larger than the number of female foreigners living there.

Kuwaiti government views towards foreigners

The government of Kuwait hardly grants citizenship to foreigners. They have indicated plans aimed at reducing the number of expatriates as they considered the high levels of foreigners problematic. Kuwait shares borders with Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which raised the issue of the Bidoon population trying to claim Kuwaiti citizenship. The Bidoon are a group of stateless people who were believed to have migrated from other neighboring Arab countries and were considered to be residing in Kuwait illegally.