Kuwait’s non-oil revenues surpass 10 billion dinars in 5 years

Maximizing non-oil revenues while balancing oil revenues, has long been a persistent challenge for Kuwait’s budget. Every Finance Minister who takes office highlights this issue, stressing the importance of diversifying income sources to ensure economic stability.

Speaking at the “First General Budget 2024” forum organized by the ministry, former Minister Anwar Al-Mudhaf highlighted the government’s goal of raising actual non-oil revenues in the general budget from 4% to 10% of GDP by 2030. He noted that Kuwait’s current non-oil revenue share is significantly lower than that of its Gulf counterparts, standing at just 10% in Saudi Arabia and 15% in the UAE.

Al-Mudhaf emphasized the need to diversify income sources and reduce reliance on oil revenues, aiming to double non-oil revenues to 4 billion dinars by the 2027-2028 fiscal year. This goal, he explained, would be achieved through nine strategic initiatives proposed by the Ministry of Finance to boost revenue in this sector.

Over the past five fiscal years (2019/2020 – 2023/2024), non-oil revenues have constituted 10.3% of total oil and non-oil revenues, according to statistics prepared by Al-Jarida based on final accounts. Their total value amounted to 10.16 billion dinars during this period. Additionally, in the 2024/2025 budget, the current fiscal year, non-oil revenues are estimated at 2.68 billion dinars, highlighting the ongoing focus on diversifying income sources.

Maximizing non-oil revenues lies at the heart of the broader challenge of diversifying income sources—a key hurdle for oil-dependent economies. While many nations rely heavily on oil, some are actively implementing long-term strategies to create a fertile and attractive environment for sustainable economic projects, aiming to boost non-oil revenues over time.

One of the key challenges in achieving these goals is the need to establish legislation that enhances the attractiveness of foreign investment while also expanding the role of the private sector in industries that remain largely under government control.

In April 2018, the Ministry of Finance, in its official communications, highlighted the National Program for Economic and Financial Sustainability, “Estidama,” as a key government initiative aimed at developing non-oil revenues. The program dedicated an independent pillar to strengthening the private sector, positioning it as a crucial driver for diversifying income sources through private investments while also serving as a mechanism to absorb national labor into the private sector.

The Council of Ministers, through Resolution No. 788 of 2017, instructed all relevant authorities to continue implementing economic and financial reforms to safeguard Kuwait’s credit strength and stability.

Looking back at non-oil revenues in the final accounts for the past five years (2019/2020–2023/2024), they accounted for 10.2% of the total oil and non-oil revenues, which amounted to 98.7 billion dinars. Non-oil revenues specifically contributed 10.16 billion dinars during this period.

Examining non-oil revenues based on final accounts, the fiscal year 2019/2020 recorded total non-oil revenues of 1.85 billion dinars, compared to 15.36 billion dinars from oil revenues. In the following year, 2020/2021, non-oil revenues amounted to 1.73 billion dinars, while oil revenues stood at 8.79 billion dinars.

In the 2021/2022 fiscal year, non-oil revenues reached 2.36 billion dinars, marking a 38% increase from the previous year, alongside oil revenues of 16.21 billion dinars.

However, in 2022/2023, non-oil revenues declined to 2.11 billion dinars, while oil revenues surged to 26.07 billion dinars, resulting in a budget surplus of 6.3 billion dinars. The 2023/2024 fiscal year recorded non-oil revenues of 2.11 billion dinars, with oil revenues totaling 21.52 billion dinars.