Kuwait Population

Kuwait is a country where citizens are the minority: roughly two thirds of residents are foreign workers, so its population line tracks labour demand as much as births. Fertility among the resident population has fallen well below replacement, yet continued migration keeps the total rising, with the projection still climbing at 2100. Few countries' demographics are so directly a policy choice.

Kuwait is home to about 5.1 million people in 2026, the 128th largest population of any country. In Western Asia, where it lies, that future is driven by fertility, longevity and the movement of people across its borders. Population density stands at about 286 people for every square kilometre of land.

Growth continues for Kuwait until around 2100, the year its population is set to crest at about 9.6 million. From there a slow fall takes it to roughly 9.6 million by century's end.

Half of Kuwait is currently younger than about 35, but by 2100 the median age is projected to reach around 36, even as life expectancy improves from about 81 years. An older population gradually reshapes the labour force, pension systems and healthcare demand.

Fertility sits at about 1.51 births per woman, below the replacement level of roughly 2.1, so without migration the population would eventually shrink. Net inward migration adds to the population each year and partly offsets the low birth rate.

These figures follow the UN's medium variant, the most widely cited scenario. The low and high variants, driven mainly by differing fertility assumptions, fan out into a wide range by 2100, so treat each number as a central estimate rather than a precise forecast.