News Briefing for February 2024

Feb 29   Hotels Consider Allowing Unmarried Kuwaitis to Book Rooms Independently. Have Kuwaiti hotels lifted their long-standing ban on hosting single Kuwaiti guests, both male and female, without requiring them to be accompanied by their spouses? 

 

Feb 28   The Central Administration of Statistics report sheds light the number of workers in the State of Kuwait as at the end of the third quarter of 2023, putting its size to about 2.107 million workers, not counting the number of domestic workers, reports Al-Jarida daily. When adding domestic workers and the like — the family sector — whose number is about 790,000, the total rises to about 2.897 million workers, and the percentage of domestic workers amounts to about 27.3% of the total employment in Kuwait.

 

Feb 28   According to recently compiled statistics from the Central Administration of Statistics, Kuwait consumed 2.8,000 tons of local fish in 2023, with a total estimated value of around 6.7 million dinars, reports Al-Qabas daily. These statistics covered approximately 25 varieties of fish, with shrimp being a notable contributor, accounting for approximately one million kilograms sold during the year 2023. Additionally, the consumption of Zubaidi fish totaled around 79,000 kilograms over the same period.

 

Feb 21   The latest government data showed that the population of Kuwait reached about 4.859 million by the end of 2023, including 1.546 million citizens and 3.3 million expatriates — an increase of 2.6 percent or 122,700 compared to about 4.7 million in 2022, reports Al-Anba daily. 

 

Feb 15   Kuwait's emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah issued a decree on Thursday to dissolve the parliament, state news agency KUNA reported.


News Briefing for January 2024

January 31    Kuwait’s budget deficit in the fiscal year 2024/2025 is expected to hit KD 5.89 billion (USD 19.15 billion), down 13.5 percent compared to the current year, according to a draft budget bill released by the Ministry of Finance.


January 29    The Central Bank of Kuwait released statistics indicating a significant surge in consumer spending among citizens and residents in 2023. The total spending, both within and outside the country, witnessed a remarkable increase, jumping by 3.6 billion dinars to a record 45.79 billion.