Photo: Jack Versloot · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 17 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Kuwait: Digital & Technology
How ready is a country to use, make and trade technology?
Kuwait is placed joint 47th of 198 countries on digital & technology in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: GovTech Maturity Index 0.684 (2025); Government AI Readiness Index 43.79 (2025).
Share
Digital & Technology
joint47th
of 198 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
- 0.684GovTech Maturity Index, 2025GTMI score (0–1)
- 43.79Government AI Readiness Index, 2025AI readiness score (0–100)
- 2.097Government Cyber Security Capacity, 2025Original latent estimate (≈ −3.6 to +3.7); higher = more capacity
- 57.96Digitally-Deliverable Services Exports, 2024Digitally-deliverable services exports (% of services exports)
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Kuwait on digital & technology — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
0.684
GTMI score (0–1)
Higher is better
Kuwait: 0.684. Across the 196 countries in this edition, values run from 0.01 (North Korea) to 0.997 (South Korea); the world median is 0.63.
- World median
- 0.63
- Best in Western Asia
- 0.996 Saudi Arabia
- Land neighbours
- Iraq 0.464 · Saudi Arabia 0.996
43.79
AI readiness score (0–100)
Higher is better
Ranked 83rd of 195 by Oxford Insights
Kuwait: 43.79. Across the 195 countries in this edition, values run from 12.12 (Guinea-Bissau) to 88.36 (United States); the world median is 40.19.
- World median
- 40.19
- Best in Western Asia
- 71.57 Saudi Arabia
- Land neighbours
- Iraq 29.37 · Saudi Arabia 71.57
Key 3 of 4
Government Cyber Security Capacity
V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
2.097
Original latent estimate (≈ −3.6 to +3.7); higher = more capacity
Higher is better
Kuwait: 2.097. Across the 176 countries in this edition, values run from -2.66 (Liberia) to 3.715 (Estonia); the world median is 0.196.
- World median
- 0.196
- Best in Western Asia
- 3.497 Israel
- Land neighbours
- Iraq -0.619 · Saudi Arabia 1.76
Key 4 of 4
Digitally-Deliverable Services Exports
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
57.96
Digitally-deliverable services exports (% of services exports)
Higher is better
Kuwait: 57.96. Across the 170 countries in this edition, values run from 0.377 (Gambia) to 87.15 (Ireland); the world median is 25.42.
- World median
- 25.42
- Best in Western Asia
- 82.14 Israel
- Land neighbours
- Iraq 9.308 · Saudi Arabia 7.429
02Over time
Which way Kuwait is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Government AI Readiness Index
AI readiness score (0–100) · higher is better
KuwaitWorld median
Kuwait fell from 50.61 in 2020 to 43.79 in 2025; the world median went from 39.58 to 40.19.
Every year’s figures
Year Kuwait World median 2025 43.8 40.2 2024 51.3 43.3 2023 49.9 41.4 2022 47.7 40.3 2021 51.0 44.1 2020 50.6 39.6 Government Cyber Security Capacity
Original latent estimate (≈ −3.6 to +3.7); higher = more capacity · higher is better
KuwaitWorld median
Kuwait rose from 1.163 in 2000 to 2.097 in 2025; the world median went from -0.514 to 0.196.
Every year’s figures
Year Kuwait World median 2025 2.1 0.20 2024 2.1 0.11 2023 2.1 0.14 2022 2.1 0.16 2021 1.8 0.12 2020 1.8 0.12 2019 1.8 0.10 2018 1.8 -0.05 2017 1.8 -0.08 2016 1.8 -0.10 2015 1.8 -0.17 2014 1.8 -0.21 2013 1.7 -0.21 2012 1.7 -0.25 2011 1.3 -0.32 2010 1.3 -0.31 2009 1.3 -0.50 2008 1.3 -0.51 2007 1.3 -0.51 2006 1.3 -0.55 2005 1.3 -0.55 2004 1.2 -0.55 2003 1.2 -0.55 2002 1.2 -0.51 2001 1.2 -0.51 2000 1.2 -0.51 Digitally-Deliverable Services Exports
Digitally-deliverable services exports (% of services exports) · higher is better
KuwaitWorld median
Kuwait rose from 43.46 in 2010 to 57.96 in 2024; the world median went from 19.88 to 25.42.
Every year’s figures
Year Kuwait World median 2024 58.0 25.42 2023 60.7 26.03 2022 60.1 26.04 2021 68.9 29.80 2020 75.7 29.47 2019 69.7 18.36 2018 72.2 20.09 2017 58.7 18.32 2016 56.8 18.15 2015 54.9 19.57 2014 58.2 21.00 2013 65.0 20.50 2012 42.4 19.56 2011 40.6 19.21 2010 43.5 19.88
03In context
Kuwait beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 198 countries on digital & technology, never a place within the region.
Kuwait and the countries it borders
Standing among all 198; the key columns are the publishers’ own values.
| Country | Standing | GovTech Maturity IndexGTMI score (0–1) | Government AI Readiness IndexAI readiness score (0–100) | Government Cyber Security CapacityOriginal latent estimate (≈ −3.6 to +3.7); higher = more capacity | Digitally-Deliverable Services ExportsDigitally-deliverable services exports (% of services exports) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Saudi Arabia | 45th | 0.996 | 71.57 | 1.76 | 7.429 |
| Kuwait | =47th | 0.684 | 43.79 | 2.097 | 57.96 |
 Iraq | 141st | 0.464 | 29.37 | -0.619 | 9.308 |
“—”: no published reading in that edition. What a standing is
Across Western Asia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 198.
Placed either side on digital & technology
The countries immediately above and below Kuwait in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Kuwait is ahead of the world, and behind
16 more statistics filed under digital & technology, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median9
Statistics on which Kuwait does better than the middle country measured.
ICT Services ExportsUNCTAD · 2024 · world median 7.47444.787.474No real change since 2014
Kuwait: 44.78 · world median 7.474 · ICT services exports (% of services exports). UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 56.25; higher is better.
Position 2nd of 118 · derived.
Firms Experiencing Internet DisruptionsWorld Bank Group · 2026 · world median 32.352.94332.35No earlier reading
Kuwait: 2.943 · world median 32.35 · Firms that experienced internet outages or slow-downs (%). World Bank Group, 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 0.735 to 82.39; lower is better.
Position 161st of 163 · derived, 1st = worst.
Internet Use Among AdultsWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 83.0595.9983.05No earlier reading
Kuwait: 95.99 · world median 83.05 · Adults who used the internet in the past three months (% of population aged 15+). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 11.06 to 99.12; higher is better.
Position 12th of 140 · derived.
Smartphone OwnershipWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 78.7887.2978.78No earlier reading
Kuwait: 87.29 · world median 78.78 · Adults whose main mobile phone is a smartphone (% of population aged 15+). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 8.663 to 97.36; higher is better.
Position 34th of 140 · derived.
Frontier Technology Readiness IndexUNCTAD · 2023 · world median 0.4850.6270.485▲ Improved since 2013
Kuwait: 0.627 · world median 0.485 · Frontier Technology Readiness Index (0–1). UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1; higher is better.
Position 56th of 170 · derived.
Mobile Phone OwnershipWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 91.6894.6791.68No earlier reading
Kuwait: 94.67 · world median 91.68 · Adults who own a mobile phone (% of population aged 15+). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 45.83 to 100; higher is better.
Position 47th of 140 · derived.
AI User Share of the Working-Age PopulationMicrosoft AI Economy Institute · 2026 · world median 15.4522.615.45No real change since 2025
Kuwait: 22.6 · world median 15.45 · Generative-AI users (% of population aged 15–64). Microsoft AI Economy Institute, 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 6.1 to 73.3; higher is better.
Firms with Their Own WebsiteWorld Bank Group · 2026 · world median 62.3965.8562.39No earlier reading
Kuwait: 65.85 · world median 62.39 · Firms with their own website (%). World Bank Group, 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 1.824 to 97.88; higher is better.
Position 76th of 181 · derived.
Share of Firms' Payments Made ElectronicallyWorld Bank Group · 2026 · world median 64.2267.564.22No earlier reading
Kuwait: 67.5 · world median 64.22 · Payments made electronically in a typical month, excluding payroll and payments to government (%). World Bank Group, 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 2.172 to 99.91; higher is better.
Behind the world median3
Statistics on which Kuwait does worse than the middle country measured.
Government Internet ShutdownsV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 1.0230.8291.023No real change since 2015
Kuwait: 0.829 · world median 1.023 · Original latent estimate (≈ −4 to +2); higher = fewer shutdowns. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -3.547 to 2.081; higher is better.
Position 96th of 176 · derived.
Government Dissemination of False Information (Domestic)V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median -0.114-1.359-0.114▼ Worsened since 2015
Kuwait: -1.359 · world median -0.114 · Original latent estimate (≈ −3.6 to +3.2); higher = less disinformation. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -3.392 to 2.93; higher is better.
Position 136th of 176 · derived.
Government Social Media CensorshipV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2025 · world median 0.505-1.1370.505▲ Improved since 2015
Kuwait: -1.137 · world median 0.505 · Original latent estimate (≈ −4.5 to +2.4); higher = less censorship. V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -3.721 to 2.295; higher is better.
Position 145th of 176 · derived.
No better end4
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
GitHub DevelopersGitHub · 2026 · world median 84,670112,08584,670No real change since 2020
Kuwait: 112,085 · world median 84,670 · Developer accounts located in the economy (as of quarter end). GitHub, 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 110 to 32,410,529.
GitHub RepositoriesGitHub · 2026 · world median 141,454143,396141,454No real change since 2020
Kuwait: 143,396 · world median 141,454 · Public repositories located in the economy (as of quarter end). GitHub, 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 142 to 77,284,974.
Anthropic AI Usage IndexAnthropic · 2026 · world median 0.960.920.96No earlier reading
Kuwait: 0.92 · world median 0.96 · Claude usage index (1 = in proportion to working-age population). Anthropic, 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 0.07 to 6.4.
GitHub Git PushesGitHub · 2025 · world median 148,71471,605148,714Moved since 2020
Kuwait: 71,605 · world median 148,714 · Git pushes during the quarter. GitHub, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1,967 to 40,768,192.
No current reading for Kuwait
Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index, ICT Goods Exports (last 2023), Made or Received a Digital Payment (last 2017), Primary Schools with Internet for Teaching (last 2021) and Share of Graduates from ICT Programmes. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
“Position · derived” is this site’s ordering of the published values, 1st = best unless the row says otherwise; the publisher ranks no country on it. Rank, position and standing
05Country Index 2026
Digital & Technology among Kuwait’s 15 topics
Digital & Technology is Kuwait’s 2nd best-placed topic of 15. Strongest first, each marker at its share of that topic’s field.
- Work & Labour12th of 1824/4 keys
- Digital & Technologyjoint 47th of 1984/4 keys
- Health & Wellbeing49th of 2004/4 keys
- Risk & Resilience62nd of 1933/4 keys
- Food & Agriculturejoint 61st of 1842/4 keys
- Development & Human Capitaljoint 76th of 1963/3 keys
- Governance & Institutions76th of 1944/4 keys
- Economy & Innovation87th of 1764/4 keys
- Mobility & Tradejoint 91st of 1773/4 keys
- Peace & Security103rd of 1774/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Libertiesjoint 136th of 1984/4 keys
- Education & Knowledge138th of 1983/4 keys
- Energy121st of 1653/3 keys
- Gender & Equality178th of 1833/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability184th of 1863/4 keys
No standing on Poverty & Inequality: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on digital & technology
The three countries placed highest of 198, and the leaders Kuwait can most readily be measured against.
=1
EstoniaNorthern Europe
Joint 1st of 198 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Andrus Uuetalu derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0 ee, greyscale
=1
South KoreaEastern Asia
Joint 1st of 198 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
3
SingaporeSouth-eastern Asia
3rd of 198 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: Khairul Nizam . · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Asia
South Korea=1st4/4 keysHighest in Western Asia
Israel13th4/4 keysThis page
Kuwait=47th4/4 keys
Positions out of 198 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Questions
Kuwait on digital & technology: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Kuwait rank on digital & technology?
Kuwait is placed joint 47th of 198 countries on Digital & Technology in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (GovTech Maturity Index, Government AI Readiness Index, Government Cyber Security Capacity and Digitally-Deliverable Services Exports). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest GovTech Maturity Index figure for Kuwait?
0.684 in 2025 (gTMI score (0–1)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 0.63.
What is the latest Government AI Readiness Index figure for Kuwait?
43.79 in 2025 (aI readiness score (0–100)), according to Oxford Insights. The world median in the same edition was 40.19.
How does Kuwait compare with Iraq on digital & technology?
Iraq is placed 141st of 198, and Kuwait joint 47th. GovTech Maturity Index: Iraq 0.464, Kuwait 0.684; Government AI Readiness Index: Iraq 29.37, Kuwait 43.79; Government Cyber Security Capacity: Iraq -0.619, Kuwait 2.097; Digitally-Deliverable Services Exports: Iraq 9.308, Kuwait 57.96.
How have Kuwait’s digital & technology figures changed?
Government AI Readiness Index fell from 50.61 in 2020 to 43.79 in 2025; Government Cyber Security Capacity rose from 1.163 in 2000 to 2.097 in 2025; Digitally-Deliverable Services Exports rose from 43.46 in 2010 to 57.96 in 2024.
Which digital & technology statistics are missing for Kuwait?
No current reading is published for Kuwait on Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index, ICT Goods Exports, Made or Received a Digital Payment, Primary Schools with Internet for Teaching and Share of Graduates from ICT Programmes. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Broadband and mobile subscriptions, connection speeds and the cost of getting online are absent, for the licence reason above; internet use and phone ownership, from the World Bank’s own household survey, and firms’ websites and internet disruptions, from its Enterprise Surveys, are published here as context. The ICT share of goods exports votes under Mobility & Trade. Digital public services and data-protection law are not held yet. Research and development spending is filed under Education & Knowledge, and what an economy knows how to make is under Economy & Innovation.
How the Digital & Technology standing is decided
A standing is this site’s ordering, named with its edition — never a publisher’s rank. 4 key statistics vote, one vote each; every country’s published value becomes a place within that key’s own field, the places are averaged, and the average is never published. A country needs 2 of the 4 keys to be placed.
The digital & technology method, step by stepHow every standing on this site is built
The key statistics and their licences
- GovTech Maturity Index — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Government AI Readiness Index — Oxford Insights, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Government Cyber Security Capacity — V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Digitally-Deliverable Services Exports — UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), CC BY 3.0 IGO
The other 16 statistics on this page come from 6 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Kuwait’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Kuwait (banner) — Jack Versloot, CC BY 2.0
- Estonia — Andrus Uuetalu derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0 ee
- South Korea — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Singapore — Khairul Nizam ., CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Kuwait: Digital & Technology — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/kuwait/digital