Israel vs Kuwait
Israel is 17% larger than Kuwait.
IsraelKuwaitIsrael moved onto Kuwait · Equal-area projection
1.17×
Israel is 1.17× the area of Kuwait.
 Israel |  Kuwait | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaIsrael: 1.17× the area | 20,770 km²#150 of 194 | 17,818 km²#153 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 5 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationIsrael: 2.08× the population | 10,122,800#96 of 194 · 2025 | 4,865,298#126 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityIsrael: 1.78× the density | 487 / km²#17 of 194 | 273 / km²#32 of 194 |
| Urban populationKuwait: 1.09× the urban share | 92%#17 of 192 · 2025 | 100%#1 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateIsrael: 1.84× the births per woman | 2.87 per woman#56 of 192 · 2024 | 1.56 per woman#127 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthIsrael: 1.85 points higher | +1.20%#84 of 192 · 2025 | −0.65%#184 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateIsrael: 1.86× the birth rate | 18.6 per 1,000#80 of 192 · 2024 | 10.0 per 1,000#140 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateIsrael: 3.53× the death rate | 5.3 per 1,000#162 of 192 · 2024 | 1.5 per 1,000#190 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Israel: 9.2 points higher | 27.2%#81 of 192 · 2025 | 18.0%#128 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Israel: 9.5 points higher | 12.7%#64 of 192 · 2025 | 3.2%#161 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationKuwait: 7.7 per 1,000 higher | +1.1 per 1,000#51 of 192 · 2025 | +8.8 per 1,000#10 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadKuwait: 5.75× the refugees for its size | 0.12 per 1,000#113 of 190 · 2025 | 0.69 per 1,000#68 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyKuwait: 1.4 years longer | 83.2 years#13 of 192 · 2024 | 84.6 years#3 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityKuwait: 2.59× the infant mortality | 2.7 per 1,000 births#170 of 191 · 2024 | 7.0 per 1,000 births#132 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsIsrael: 1.67× the doctors per person | 3.80 per 1,000#36 of 178 · 2023 | 2.27 per 1,000#79 of 178 · 2020 |
| University enrolmentIsrael: 1.08× the university enrolment | 56.3%#63 of 145 · 2024 | 51.9%#74 of 145 · 2021 |
| Human Development IndexIsrael: 0.067 higher | 0.919#26 of 190 · 2023 | 0.852#51 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaIsrael: 1.37× the income per person | $56,180#17 of 185 · 2025 | $41,110#27 of 185 · 2024 |
| GDPIsrael: 3.89× the economy | $610.78B2025 | $157.21B2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Israel: 1.06× the output per person | $59,717#33 of 184 · 2025 | $56,468#37 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthIsrael: 0.2 points higher | +2.9%#104 of 187 · 2025 | +2.7%#111 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationIsrael: 0.6 points higher | +3.0%#90 of 176 · 2025 | +2.4%#103 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentIsrael: 1.59× the unemployment | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 | 2.2%#158 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 0.4%#107 of 149 · 2022 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 38.3#50 of 149 · 2022 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureKuwait: 1.1 points higher | 0.8% of jobs#175 of 178 · 2025 | 1.9% of jobs#159 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryKuwait: 9.5 points higher | 15.1% of jobs#136 of 178 · 2025 | 24.6% of jobs#44 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesIsrael: 10.6 points higher | 84.1% of jobs#6 of 178 · 2025 | 73.5% of jobs#36 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentIsrael: 4.0 points higher | 4.3% of GDP#43 of 184 · 2025 | 0.3% of GDP#154 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsKuwait: 28.2 points higher | 27.6% of GDP#107 of 168 · 2025 | 55.8% of GDP#35 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingIsrael: 1.67× the military spending | 7.8% of GDP#3 of 155 · 2025 | 4.7% of GDP#11 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersKuwait: 1.13× the share online | 88%#67 of 184 · 2024 | 100%#1 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsIsrael: 1.05× the mobile subscriptions | 177 per 100#9 of 191 · 2024 | 168 per 100#16 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaIsrael: 17× the forest share | 7% of land#160 of 192 · 2024 | 0% of land#185 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personKuwait: 4.1× the CO₂ per person | 5.77 t a year#41 of 185 · 2024 | 23.7 t a year#4 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyIsrael: 6.1 points higher | 6.2%#155 of 190 · 2021 | 0.1%#183 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Kuwait: 2.84× the air pollution | 21.9 µg/m³#71 of 191 · 2023 | 62.3 µg/m³#6 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landIsrael: 10.5 points higher | 27.6% of land#45 of 191 · 2025 | 17.1% of land#98 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landIsrael: 11.5 points higher | 11.9% of land#85 of 190 · 2024 | 0.4% of land#183 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressKuwait: 29.2× the water stress | 132.0%#11 of 176 · 2021 | 3,850.5%#1 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationIsrael: 3.6× the rain and snow | 435 mm#148 of 180 · 2021 | 121 mm#171 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityKuwait: 1.33 higher | −0.91#164 of 193 · 2025 | +0.42#75 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionIsrael: 0.68 higher | +0.96#35 of 193 · 2025 | +0.28#69 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateIsrael: 8.0× the homicide rate | 1.6 per 100,000#85 of 146 · 2022 | 0.2 per 100,000#141 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicparliamentary democracy | Constitutional monarchyconstitutional monarchy (emirate) |
| Member of | OECD | OPEC |
| Capital | Jerusalem | Kuwait City |
| Currency | Israeli new shekel (ILS) | Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) |
| Official languages | Hebrew | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2, summer time UTC+3 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +972 | +965 |
| Region | Western Asia, Asia | Western Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Israel sits at about 31° N and is stretched to 1.37× its true area; Kuwait at 29° N is stretched to 1.32×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Israel bigger than Kuwait?
- Yes. Israel is 17% larger than Kuwait. Israel covers 20,770 km² and Kuwait covers 17,818 km².
- How many times does Kuwait fit into Israel?
- About 1.2 times: Israel has 1.17× the area of Kuwait.
- Why do Israel and Kuwait look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Israel is drawn about 1.37× its true area there and Kuwait about 1.32×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Israel or Kuwait?
- Israel: 10,122,800 people against 4,865,298. Density: Israel 487 per km², Kuwait 273 per km².
- Which is richer, Israel or Kuwait?
- By gross national income per person, Israel: $56,180 against $41,110 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.37× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Israel or Kuwait?
- In Kuwait: life expectancy at birth is 84.6 years, against 83.2 — 1.4 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Israel and Kuwait have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Israel: parliamentary republic; Kuwait: constitutional monarchy.