Economic Freedom Summary Index, Economic Freedom of the World, 25 Sep 2025
2023 overall score: 6.49, rank: 91
Territory in the northeast Arabian Peninsula, ruled since 1961 by the Dawlat al-Kuwait
Kuwait (Arabic: الكويت al-Kuwait), officially the *State of Kuwait (Arabic: دولة الكويت Dawlat al-Kuwait), is a country in Western Asia. Situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, it shares borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. As of 2016, Kuwait has a population of 4.2 million people; 1.3 million are Kuwaitis and 2.9 million are expatriates. Expatriates account for 70% of the population.
Geographical type: Territory
Latitude: 29.5° N — Longitude: 45.75° E
Area: 17,820 km²
ISO 3166-2 code: KW
Measures of Freedom
Human Freedom Index [PDF], The Human Freedom Index 2023: A Global Measurement of Personal, Civil, and Economic Freedom
2021: 6.25, Rank: 111, Personal freedom: 5.98, Economic freedom: 6.63
2021: 6.25, Rank: 111, Personal freedom: 5.98, Economic freedom: 6.63
Kuwait: Country Profile, Freedom in the World, 2025
Status: Not Free, Aggregate Score: 7/100, Political Rights: 24/40, Civil Liberties: 3/60
Status: Not Free, Aggregate Score: 7/100, Political Rights: 24/40, Civil Liberties: 3/60
Kuwait is a constitutional emirate ruled by the Sabah family. The monarchy holds executive power and dominates most state institutions. Prior to its dissolution in May 2024, the elected parliament played an influential role and often challenged the government. State authorities impose some constraints on civil liberties, including speech and assembly, and the country’s large population of noncitizen workers faces particular disadvantages.
Articles
Why the War? The Kuwait Connection, by Murray N. Rothbard, The Rothbard-Rockwell Report, May 1991
Describes the connections between the rulers of Kuwait, Henry Kissinger, the Rockefellers and various corporate and federal officials
Describes the connections between the rulers of Kuwait, Henry Kissinger, the Rockefellers and various corporate and federal officials
The Sabahklatura that runs the Kuwait government is immensely wealthy, to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, derived from tax/'royalty' loot extracted from oil producers simply because the Sabah tribe claims 'sovereignty' over that valuable chunk of desert real estate. The Sabah tribe has no legitimate claim to the oil revenue; it did nothing to homestead or mix its labor or any other resource with the crude oil.
Related Topic: Gulf War
The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kuwait" as of 26 Sep 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.