Kuwait
Adult literacy in Kuwait
Adult literacy in Kuwait: 59.6% in 1975 and 96.5% in 2020, by UNESCO estimates.
- Latest, 2020
- 96.5%
- Since 1975
- +36.9 percentage points
- World, 2020
- 87%
% of adults · UNESCO
Every year
% of adults · UNESCO
| Year | Kuwait | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | – | 87.7 |
| 2023 | – | 87.6 |
| 2022 | – | 87.4 |
| 2021 | – | 87.2 |
| 2020 | 96.5 | 87 |
| 2019 | – | 86.8 |
| 2018 | 96.1 | 86.8 |
| 2017 | 96 | 86.5 |
| 2016 | – | 86.3 |
| 2015 | 95.7 | 86 |
| 2014 | – | 85.6 |
| 2013 | 95.6 | 85.2 |
| 2012 | 95.5 | 84.9 |
| 2011 | – | 84.7 |
| 2010 | 94.5 | 84.4 |
| 2009 | – | 83.8 |
| 2008 | 93.9 | 83.5 |
| 2007 | 93.7 | 83.1 |
| 2006 | 93.3 | 82.5 |
| 2005 | 93.3 | 82.6 |
| 2004 | – | 82.6 |
| 2003 | – | 82.2 |
| 2002 | – | 81.7 |
| 2001 | – | 81.4 |
| 2000 | – | 81.1 |
| 1999 | – | 80.9 |
| 1998 | – | 80.5 |
| 1997 | – | 79.3 |
| 1996 | – | 77.3 |
| 1995 | 78.4 | 76.9 |
| 1994 | – | 76.4 |
| 1993 | – | 76 |
| 1992 | – | 75.5 |
| 1991 | – | 75.1 |
| 1990 | – | 74.6 |
| 1989 | – | 74.1 |
| 1988 | – | 73.6 |
| 1987 | – | 71.9 |
| 1986 | – | 71.3 |
| 1985 | 74.5 | 70.7 |
| 1984 | – | 70.2 |
| 1983 | – | 69.5 |
| 1982 | – | 68.9 |
| 1981 | – | 68.4 |
| 1980 | 67.5 | 67.8 |
| 1979 | – | 67.2 |
| 1978 | – | 66.5 |
| 1977 | – | 65.9 |
| 1976 | – | 65.6 |
| 1975 | 59.6 | 65.4 |
Good to know
- The share of people aged 15 and over who can read and write a short, simple statement about their everyday life.
- Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, via the World Bank.
- The faint line is the world as a whole, as the same source counts it.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Kuwait in numbers
Every measure for Kuwait on one page
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Military
- Military spending4.69% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollars$7.92B in 2025
- Military spending per person$1,623 in 2025
- Military share of state spending10.1% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnel25,000 people in 2020
- National power0.2% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workers1.03% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms imports311 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exports95 million TIV in 1998