Government net lending/borrowing in Kuwait

International Monetary Fund · Annual · Importance

IMF forecast (WEO): 2026: 27.6% 2027: 29.5% 2028: 29.4% 2029: 29.1% 2030: 28.9% 2031: 28.7%

28.0 (1999) ANUAL · % of GDP · Annual · CSV

Period	% of GDP
Jan 1999	28.0
Jan 1998	19.4
Jan 1997	29.4
Jan 1996	24.2
Jan 1995	11.7
Jan 1994	1.7
Jan 1993	-3.2
Jan 1992	-28.0
Jan 1991	-144.5
Jan 1990	-49.9

About this indicator

Source

International Monetary Fund

Frequency

Annual

Release

Published annually (with quarterly advance estimates in some economies), subject to revision with the national accounts.

What it is

Measures the balance of Kuwait's government accounts: a surplus when revenue exceeds spending, a deficit when the reverse holds. Published by the Ministry of Finance and usually expressed as a percentage of GDP.

How it's calculated

Calculated as the gap between central government revenue and spending under the IMF government finance statistics framework, and expressed relative to GDP. Oil revenue overwhelmingly dominates the accounts; a common convention deducts the mandatory transfer to the Future Generations Fund first.

Market implications

Kuwait's fiscal balance is essentially a barometer of oil revenue. High prices generate large surpluses; low prices open deficits covered by sovereign wealth funds or by debt, whose issuance has at times run into statutory limits.

Limitations

It is a low-frequency, highly volatile series driven by oil. The convention of excluding the sovereign fund transfer can flip the sign of the balance, so the definition used must be specified; the fiscal year is not the calendar year.