Workforce in Kuwait reaches 2.212 million excluding domestic workers: Al-Shall report

Al-Shall’s latest report draws on statistics issued by Kuwait’s Central Statistical Administration to present a detailed snapshot of the country’s labor market at the end of the first quarter of 2025. The report shows that the total number of workers in Kuwait, excluding domestic workers, reached approximately 2.212 million—a 3.0% increase from the 2.147 million workers recorded at the end of the same quarter in 2024.

When domestic workers and those in the family sector are included — whose numbers are estimated at around 745,000 — the total labor force increases to roughly 2.957 million workers, compared to 2.936 million in the previous year. As of the first quarter of 2025, domestic workers make up 25.2% of the workforce, a slight drop from 26.9% in the same period last year. Al-Shall emphasized that these numbers are published as reported by their sources, without independent verification of their accuracy, reports Al-Jarida daily.

The report highlights significant disparities in wages based on nationality and gender. Kuwaiti male workers in the government sector earned an average monthly salary of 1,918 dinars, down from 1,953 dinars the year before. Kuwaiti females earned an average of 1,390 dinars, up slightly from 1,375 dinars, revealing a wage gap of 38% in favor of men.

Among non-Kuwaitis working in the government sector, the average wage for males was 599 dinars—sharply down from 805 dinars last year, with no explanation offered for this decline. Non-Kuwaiti women in the same sector earned 694 dinars, slightly lower than the previous year’s 721 dinars, but now surpassing their male counterparts by around 15.8%.

The average monthly wage for Kuwaitis in the government sector stood at 1,602 dinars, while non-Kuwaitis earned around 641 dinars—a difference of approximately 150% in favor of Kuwaiti workers.

In the private sector, Kuwaiti men earned 1,662 dinars on average, 13.4% lower than their counterparts in the public sector. Kuwaiti women in private employment earned about 1,070 dinars, a rate that is 23% lower than what their peers earn in government jobs. State subsidies supporting Kuwaiti workers in the private sector continue to play a role in mitigating these gaps.

For non-Kuwaiti males in the private sector, average monthly wages stood at 314 dinars, roughly 52.5% of what their peers in the government sector earn. Non-Kuwaiti women earned 419 dinars in the private sector, which is 33.5% higher than non-Kuwaiti men in the same sector, but still 39.5% lower than their female colleagues in the government sector.

When the public and private sectors are combined, Kuwaiti males earned an average of 1,865 dinars per month, while Kuwaiti females earned 1,348 dinars—a wage gap of approximately 38.4% in favor of males.

Non-Kuwaiti males earned 324 dinars, and non-Kuwaiti females earned 472 dinars on average, resulting in a gender gap of 45.5% in favor of females.

Overall, the average monthly salary for Kuwaitis across both sectors reached 1,567 dinars, while non-Kuwaitis averaged 344 dinars.

Al-Shall reiterated that domestic workers are not included in these calculations; if they were, they would significantly affect the non-Kuwaiti wage averages. Additionally, labor support allocations for Kuwaiti private-sector employees are also excluded from the wage data.

In terms of employment distribution, the number of Kuwaitis in the government sector was around 377,200, marking a decline of 1.8% from 384,000 in the first quarter of 2024. The number of Kuwaitis working in the private sector was about 73,000, slightly down from 73,600 the previous year.

This places the distribution of Kuwaiti employment at 83.8% in government jobs and 16.2% in the private sector.

Educational attainment among Kuwaitis working in the public sector remains high. Around 51.2% hold university degrees, while 5.0% possess postgraduate qualifications. Approximately 13.2% have post-secondary but sub-university diplomas, and 19.2% have secondary school certificates or their equivalents.

This means that about 88.5% of Kuwaiti government employees have educational levels ranging from secondary to doctoral degrees. The report notes that this high percentage is largely due to wage structures being tied to educational attainment, regardless of whether the degree is necessary, relevant, or even authentic.