The Central Administration of Statistics announced the results of the “Registral Census of the State of Kuwait 2021”, which is the first census that adopts the registration census methodology based on administrative records from the country’s authorities rather than the traditional field census methodology based on field data collection, through surveys. The results showed that there is a total population of 4,385,717 of which 34% are citizens and 66% are non-citizens.
Farwaniya governorate took the lead in terms of population density (1,125,562, or 26 %), followed by Al-Ahmadi (940,176 or 21 %) and Hawalli (937,978, or 21 %), then the capital, Jahra, and Mubarak Al-Kabeer
The largest number of citizens were recorded in Al-Ahmadi Governorate (329,121), followed by the Capital Governorate (283,579) and Al-Farwaniyah Governorate (243,912), then the governorates of Hawalli, Al-Jahra, and Mubarak Al-Kabeer.
As for non-Kuwaitis, the largest number was recorded in the Farwaniya governorate (881,650), followed by Hawalli (694,059) and Al-Ahmadi (611,055), then the governorates of Al-Jahra, Al-Asimah, and Mubarak Al-Kabeer.
While the number of non-Kuwaitis exceeds the number of Kuwaitis in most governorates, Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorate alone registered the largest number of citizens (175,744 compared to 107,525).
It is remarkable that the data on the number of illiterate and semi-illiterate residents, showed that there are 50,421 illiterates and 442,202 who can read and write, which means there are about half a million non-Kuwaitis between illiterate and semi-illiterate.
In his speech upon announcing the results, yesterday afternoon, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Affairs Mazen Al-Nahedh said that the project was implemented within the framework of efforts aimed at achieving the state’s direction in technological, digital and technical transformation to develop the work environment and promote the use of information technology in all fields while supporting efforts in implementing the objectives of the vision of the State of Kuwait “New Kuwait” by 2035, which is implemented in accordance with the decision of the Regional Center for the Gulf Cooperation Council regarding the registration census, and the recommendations of the United Nations on general population and housing censuses for the 2020 session that covers the period from 2015 to 2024 .
He further explained that the statistics is important because it plays an important role in the development and planning process, as most planners and policy makers agree that data and statistics are the backbone of any development projects.
During the same announcement the Acting Director of the Central Administration for Statistics and the Head of the Statistical Work Affairs Sector, Muniya Al-Qabandi, stated that the administration sought to implement the project by applying the best international standards for the quality of statistical data production, through fruitful cooperation with the Civil Information Authority. She further explained that the census data was determined based on the recommended data basket guide for the Unified Population and Housing Census 2020 of the Gulf Cooperation Council, issued by the Gulf Statistics Center for the year 2019, and from the data basket of the general census of the State of Kuwait 2011.
Population numbers:
Total: 4,385,717
Kuwaitis: 1,488,716 (males: 729,638 – females: 759,078)
Non-Kuwaitis: 2,897,001 (males: 1,941,628 – females: 955,373)
Geographical distribution:
Farwaniya Governorate: 1,125,562 (26 percent)
Ahmadi Governorate: 940,176 (21 percent)
Hawalli Governorate: 937,978 (21 percent)
Capital Governorate: 582,311 (13 percent)
Jahra Governorate: 573,120 (13 percent)
Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate: 283,269 (6 percent)
Distribution of citizens among the governorates:
Al-Ahmadi Governorate: 329121
Capital Governorate: 283579
Farwaniya Governorate: 243912
Hawalli Governorate: 243919
Jahra Governorate: 212160
Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate: 175744
Distribution of non-Kuwaitis among the governorates:
Farwaniya Governorate: 881650
Hawalli Governorate: 694059
Al-Ahmadi Governorate: 611055
Jahra Governorate: 360960
Capital Governorate: 298732
Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate: 107525
Working in the private sector:
1,350,800 non-Kuwaitis
84,695 Kuwaitis
Working in Government sector:
113,678 are non-Kuwaitis.
360,079 Kuwaitis
Educational level:
Illiterate: 50421 non-Kuwaiti
Literate: 442,202 non-Kuwaiti