KUWAIT: The Public Authority for Civil Information issued the latest detailed data on population and employment statistics for the end of December 2023, showing that the total population in Kuwait reached 4,860,000 in the end of 2023, growing by 2.6 percent compared to the end of 2022 at 4,737,000 people (4.794 million people according to the Central Statistical Bureau), with an absolute increase during 2023 by 122,700 people.

The rise during 2022 at 351, 200 people is at a growth rate of 8.0 percent compared to a decline 6.1 percent during 2021. The Kuwaiti population during 2023 increased by 28, 600 people or a growth rate of 1.9 percent, bringing their total number to 1,546,000 people. While the percentage of Kuwaitis in the total population declined from 32.04 percent at the end of 2022 to 31.82 percent, according to the latest figures.

The number of Kuwaiti females totaled 787,300, exceeding the number of males at 758,900. The non-Kuwaiti population increased by 94,000 people (an increase rate of 2.9 percent) to reach 3,313,000 people with a compound annual growth rate during the years 2014– 2023 at 1.8 percent. The total number of workers in Kuwait amounted to 3,005,000 workers or 61.8 percent of total population, while this percentage for Kuwaitis reached 32.3 percent of the total number of Kuwaitis.

It is noted that the percentage of non-Kuwaiti workers out of the total non Kuwaiti population amounted to 75.6 percent. When compared with the end of 2022, we find that the percentage of Kuwaiti workers out of total number of workers in Kuwait decreased from 16.8 percent to 16.1 percent as in December 2023, and the percentage of female workers out of total Kuwaiti workforce reached 51.3 percent at the end of 2023 versus 51.1 percent at the end of 2022, while the percentage of female employment out of total employment in Kuwait was 29.9 percent.

The number of Kuwaiti workers increased by 18,900 workers to reach 500,000 workers, rising from 481,100 workers at the end of 2022. The number of workers in the government reached 397,600 workers or 79.5 percent of the total number of Kuwaiti workers. It is believed that the unemployment of Kuwaitis has increased to 29,800 workers or 6.0 percent of total number of Kuwaiti workers at the end of 2023, compared to 26,100 workers or 5.4 percent at the end of 2022.

The total number of workers (Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti) amounted to 509,500 workers in the government sector or approximately 10.5 percent of the total population, and the percentage of Kuwaitis working in the government sector is about 78.0 percent, according to the same source. It must be recalled that the two official sources (PACI & CSB) of these numbers are not compatible.

According to the latest issue of the Public Authority of Civil Information’s Guide for Buildings and Units, total number of buildings in Kuwait reached 218,000 buildings at the end of December 2023, compared to 215,000 buildings at the end of December 2022, indicating that the number of buildings rose by 1.4 percent within 12 months, which is lower than the growth rate recorded at the end of December 2022 compared to the end of December 2021 of 1.7 percent. Buildings are divided into different units, the number of which reached 783,800 Buildings and Real Estate Units December 2023 units at the end of December 2023 compared to 770, 800 units at the end of December 2022, an increase by 1.7 percent.

The CAGR of the number of units during the period from the end of 2014 to December 2023 was 2.0 percent, while the CAGR of the number of buildings for the same period was lower and scored 1.4 percent, which confirms the continuity of reducing the area of units within each building, indicating that the change in the demand pattern continued in the same manner.

The majority of buildings in Kuwait are used for housing, as the percentage of residential buildings scored 67.2 percent of the total number of buildings, followed by those designated for living and working together, and those designated for work only. According to PACI data, apartments constitute the majority of the number of units at 45.5 percent of the total, followed by houses at 21.7 percent then shops at 20.1 percent.

The CAGR (2014-2023) for shops, apartments and houses was 3.5 percent, 1.8 percent and 1.5 percent respectively, while the CAGR for residential annexes decreased by 0.9 percent. The percentage of vacant units declined, according to the estimates of PACI, at the end of 2023 to 20.8 percent compared to 22.4 percent at the end of 2022. — Al-Shall report