According to the 2025 edition of the “World Cost of Living Index,” Kuwait is the second most affordable country in the Gulf region regarding living expenses. Globally, it ranks 80th out of 139 nations, 12th in the Arab world.
The annual index compares living costs across countries using five key factors, benchmarked against New York City, USA, which is set as the reference point with a score of 100. Kuwait received an overall score of 40.4, indicating that living costs in Kuwait are 40.4% of those in New York City.
In individual categories, Kuwait’s costs relative to New York City were as follows:
- Rental Prices: 21.9%
- Overall Cost of Living (including rent): 32.2%
- Grocery Prices: 33.7%
- Restaurant Prices: 40.8%
- Purchasing Power: 174%, meaning the Kuwaiti dinar has 1.74 times the purchasing power of the US dollar in New York.
Within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Oman claimed the top spot for affordability, followed by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE. On a global scale, the nations with the lowest living costs include Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, India, Afghanistan, Madagascar, Bangladesh, Russia, and Paraguay.
Conversely, the most expensive countries for living costs are Switzerland, the US Virgin Islands, Iceland, the Bahamas, Singapore, Hong Kong (China), Barbados, Norway, Papua New Guinea, and Denmark.
