Kuwait’s 2024 GDP falls $5bn due to oil price drop

Kuwait’s economy shrank by around $5.5 billion in 2024 after average oil prices declined by $4 a barrel and it cut output in line with Opec+ production quotas.

Kuwait’s GDP shrank in current prices by 3 percent to KD49.1 billion ($162 billion) last year from KD50.8 billion ($167.5 billion) in 2023,  according to official data published on Tuesday carried in local media.

The oil sector was the main victim as it dipped by 11 percent, a shrinkage of KD2.6 billion.

The hydrocarbon sector remained the dominant component of Kuwait’s economy despite long-standing efforts to diversify, according to the Central Statistics Bureau, reported by the news agency Kuna.

In 2024, the oil sector was estimated at KD21.3 billion, accounting for nearly 43 percent of GDP.

In contrast, non-oil GDP grew by 3.5 percent to KD27.8 billion in 2024 on the back of growth in industry, transport and communications, farming and hotels and trade.

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Electricity and water remained unchanged while there was a slight downturn in the construction sector to KD1.64 billion from KD1.7 billion.

Kuwait’s real GDP slipped by 0.7 percent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2024 to reach KD10.4 billion, the report showed.

The average price of Kuwaiti crude declined by around 4.7 percent to $75.8 a barrel in 2024 from $79.5 a barrel in 2023, the Finance Ministry said in a report this year.

The country’s crude output also receded by 6.6 percent or 172,000 barrels per day to 2.42 million bpd last year because of Opec quota curbs.