Municipal waste recycled in Kuwait

Kuwait: Municipal waste recycled was 1.15 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
1.15 million tonnes
Change on year
down 10.9%
World rank
35th
of 90 countries
All-time high
3.74 million tonnes
in 2019
All-time low
7,000 tonnes
in 2004
Years of data
20
2004–2023

Municipal waste recycled in Kuwait, 2004–2023

01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M2004201320232004: 7.0k tonnes2005: 314.0k tonnes2006: 1.1M tonnes2007: 2.6M tonnes2008: 2.7M tonnes2009: 2.3M tonnes2010: 2.5M tonnes2011: 2.3M tonnes2012: 2.6M tonnes2013: 2.0M tonnes2014: 992.0k tonnes2015: 1.8M tonnes2016: 1.5M tonnes2017: 1.3M tonnes2018: 1.4M tonnes2019: 3.7M tonnes2020: 2.4M tonnes2021: 1.8M tonnes2022: 1.3M tonnes2023: 1.2M tonnes

Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

Kuwait recorded 1.15 million tonnes for municipal waste recycled in 2023.

That represents a change of down 10.9% on the previous year and down 43.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in Kuwait peaked at 3.74 million tonnes in 2019 and was at its lowest, 7,000 tonnes, in 2004.

That places Kuwait 35th out of 90 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Municipal waste recycled in Kuwait, year by year

Annual values for Municipal waste recycled in Kuwait, 2004 to 2023.
Year tonnes Change
2004 7,000 tonnes
2005 314,000 tonnes +4385.7%
2006 1.07 million tonnes +242.4%
2007 2.65 million tonnes +146.3%
2008 2.67 million tonnes +0.8%
2009 2.29 million tonnes -14.3%
2010 2.50 million tonnes +9.5%
2011 2.26 million tonnes -9.7%
2012 2.57 million tonnes +13.7%
2013 2.03 million tonnes -21.0%
2014 992,000 tonnes -51.1%
2015 1.78 million tonnes +79.3%
2016 1.52 million tonnes -14.7%
2017 1.34 million tonnes -11.6%
2018 1.42 million tonnes +5.7%
2019 3.74 million tonnes +164.1%
2020 2.44 million tonnes -34.8%
2021 1.79 million tonnes -26.8%
2022 1.29 million tonnes -27.7%
2023 1.15 million tonnes -10.9%

Kuwait compared with similar countries

  • Kuwait's 1.15 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 948,000 tonnes, 1.2× the median. (57 countries reporting)
  • Kuwait's 1.15 million tonnes is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 560,136 tonnes, 2.1× the median. (9 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Municipal waste recycled in Kuwait changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2005 +4385.7% 7,000 tonnes 314,000 tonnes
2006 +242.4% 314,000 tonnes 1.07 million tonnes
2019 +164.1% 1.42 million tonnes 3.74 million tonnes

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.50 million tonnes 7,000 tonnes 2.67 million tonnes 6
2010s 2.02 million tonnes 992,000 tonnes 3.74 million tonnes 10
2020s 1.67 million tonnes 1.15 million tonnes 2.44 million tonnes 4

Countries ranked near Kuwait

  1. 32 Ireland 1.31 million tonnes compare
  2. 33 Slovakia 1.29 million tonnes compare
  3. 34 Finland 1.17 million tonnes compare
  4. 36 Argentina 1.04 million tonnes compare
  5. 37 Brazil 1.02 million tonnes compare
  6. 38 Greece 948,000 tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 90 places →

More environment data for Kuwait

All data for Kuwait →

Frequently asked questions

What is municipal waste recycled in Kuwait?
Municipal waste recycled in Kuwait was 1.15 million tonnes in 2023, according to United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest municipal waste recycled recorded in Kuwait?
The highest recorded value was 3.74 million tonnes in 2019.
What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in Kuwait?
The lowest recorded value was 7,000 tonnes in 2004.
How does Kuwait rank for municipal waste recycled?
Kuwait ranks 35th out of 90 countries with data for 2023.
Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Kuwait?
Over the last ten years it is down 43.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Kuwait data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycled. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Municipal waste recycled in Kuwait. Statizoid, drawing on United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/municipal-waste-recycled/kuwait/

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About this data

Indicator
Municipal waste recycled
Unit
tonnes
Source
United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
90 places, 1,516 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes).