Kuwait enjoys a highly favorable payments position because of its huge trade surpluses. The Kuwaiti dinar is completely covered by the country's reserve fund, 50% of which must be in gold.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2001 the purchasing power parity of Kuwait's exports was $16.2 billion while imports totaled $7.4 billion resulting in a trade surplus of $8.8 billion.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that in 2001 Kuwait had exports of goods totaling $16.2 billion and imports totaling $6.93 billion. The services credit totaled $1.79 billion and debit $5.34 billion. The following table summarizes Kuwait's balance of payments as reported by the IMF for 2001 in millions of US dollars.
Current Account | 8,562 |
Balance on goods | 9,238 |
Balance on services | -3,551 |
Balance on income | 4,956 |
Current transfers | -2,081 |
Capital Account | 2,931 |
Financial Account | -6,036 |
Direct investment abroad | -323 |
Direct investment in Kuwait | -39 |
Portfolio investment assets | -7,372 |
Portfolio investment liabilities | -78 |
Other investment assets | 430 |
Other investment liabilities | 1,347 |
Net Errors and Omissions | -2,553 |
Reserves and Related Items | -2,905 |
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