Corruption in Kuwait

Corruption in Kuwait is a problem resulting in political tensions in society.^[1] Kuwait's bureaucracy can be biased in favour of domestic companies.^[2] The public procurement process is susceptible to corruption, there are some ongoing investigations and trials involving government officials accused of wrongdoing in the procurement process.^[3]

Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, which scored 180 countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"), gave Kuwait a score of 46. When ranked by score, Kuwait ranked 65th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.^[4] For comparison with regional scores, the average score among Middle Eastern and North African countries^{[Note 1]} was 39. The best score among Middle Eastern and North African countries was 68 and the worst score was 12).^[5] For comparison with worldwide scores, the average score was 43, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), and the worst score was 8 (ranked 180).^[6]

Anti-corruption efforts

The government has tried to reduce corruption and increase transparency in the public sector by establishing an independent anti-corruption authority and by strengthening the anti-corruption legal framework through several initiatives and efforts.

Notes

1. Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen

See also

• Crime in Kuwait