Kuwait’s skyline expands as 4,630 new buildings added in 2024
Residential buildings accounted for 65.8% of the total, reaching 146,600 with a 0.1% rise, followed by mixed-use buildings at 16.9% (37,560), growing 8.55%, while empty buildings made up 8.1% (18,020), declining 3.6%.
• The total number of buildings in Kuwait grew by 2.1% to reach approximately 222,633 by the end of December 2024, up from 217,997 in December 2023.
The total number of buildings in Kuwait grew by 2.1% in 2024, adding 4,630 buildings to reach approximately 222,633 by the end of December, up from 217,997 in December 2023, according to Al Rai newspaper.
According to government data, Kuwait’s buildings are categorized into housing, work, living and working, empty, and others.
Residential buildings made up about 65.8% of the total, reaching 146,600, a 0.1% increase from the previous year. Mixed-use buildings followed, accounting for 16.9% (37,560 buildings), with an 8.55% growth.
Empty buildings made up 8.1 percent of Kuwait’s total, numbering 18,020, a 3.6 percent decline. Buildings used solely for work constituted 6.2 percent or 13,850 buildings, showing a 0.9 percent decrease. Meanwhile, other buildings accounted for 2.9 percent or 6,560 buildings, experiencing a significant 56.3 percent growth.
Kuwait’s buildings included 167,800 residential houses, 13,170 investment buildings, 3,830 marginal buildings, 36,850 other traditional buildings, and 926 buildings under construction.
Geographically, Al-Ahmadi Governorate held the largest share, comprising 23.1 percent or 51,500 buildings, followed by Jahra (19.55 percent, 43,500), Al-Farwaniya(15.4 percent, 34,350), Hawalli (15.33 percent, 34,122), the Capital (14.97 percent, 33,321), and finally Mubarak Al-Kabeer (11.6 percent, 25,800).
Buildings in Kuwait are further divided based on usage into houses, apartments, annexes, commercial shops, and others. The statistics revealed that Kuwait’s governorates collectively house 356,640 apartments, including 226,470 for residential use, 11,494 for work, and 5,940 for both housing and work.
Number of empty apartments reached 64,972
The number of empty apartments reached 64,972, a 26.4 percent decrease from the previous year. Among the governorates, Hawalli had the highest number of empty apartments, totaling 28,100, followed by Al-Ahmadi(19,700), Al-Farwaniya (8,798), Mubarak Al-Kabeer(4,698), the Capital (2,986), and finally Jahra (611).
Number of villas reached 152,612
The number of villas reached 152,612, of which 126,500 were for housing, 296 for work, 10,270 for both housing and work, and 116,920 were vacant. The number of palaces totaled 74, including 42 for residences, 2 for work, 17 for both housing and work, and 13 vacant.
The number of annexes amounted to 10,422, including 8,800 residential, 24 for work, 73 for both housing and work, and 1,500 vacant.
Number of shops hit 125,259
The number of shops reached 125,259, including 454 for housing, 85,230 for work, and 2,577 for both housing and work, in addition to 25,020 empty shops. The number of carpets recorded was 2,063, of which 526 were empty.
The number of chalets reached 3,337, with 3,264 vacant. The total number of hotels stood at 132, including 18 that were empty.
Kuwait’s population reached 4.987 million
Kuwait’s population at the end of 2024 reached approximately 4.987 million, reflecting a 2.5 percent growth and an increase of 127,000 people compared to 4.86 million at the end of 2023. The number of Kuwaitis grew by 1.34 percent, adding 21,000 people to reach 1.567 million, up from 1.546 million. Meanwhile, the expatriate population increased by 3.5 percent, rising by 119,000 to 3.419 million, up from 3.3 million.
Al-Ahmadi had the largest share of Kuwaiti citizens
Geographically, the data showed that Al-Ahmadi had the largest share of Kuwaiti citizens at 22.25 percent, totaling 348,953, followed by Jahra (14.38 percent, 225,445), the Capital (18.48 percent, 289,820), Al-Farwaniya (16.88 percent, 264,700), Hawalli (15.6 percent, 244,560), and Mubarak Al-Kabeer (12.39 percent, 194,305).
Among expatriates, Al-Farwaniya accounted for 29.09 percent with 994,730, followed by Hawalli (22.64 percent, 774,300), Al-Ahmadi (22.6 percent, 773,400), Jahra (12.04 percent, 411,790), the Capital (9.37 percent, 320,300), and Mubarak Al-Kabeer (4.11 percent, 140,400).
