Building a knowledge-based economy requires the emergence of highly productive, skill-intensive sectors and a skilled workforce prepared to excel in these areas.¹. While some challenges persist, addressing these disparities in education outcomes is an essential aspect of ongoing efforts to promote equal opportunities for all students, including the challenges that children face in reading and comprehending age-appropriate texts by the age of 10². These needed foundational skills create opportunities for further learning during their school years and beyond. Additionally, exploring ways to encourage continued education within the higher education system can further empower individuals in their pursuit of knowledge and career advancement³

Kuwait has a remarkable opportunity to foster the creation of human capital.⁴ There is an opportunity for the Government of Kuwait to accelerate comprehensive education reforms, including the TVET sector, and to invest in lifelong learning programmes, empowering the existing workforce to transition seamlessly into the digital economy. Kuwait can unlock potential through innovative reskilling and upskilling, especially in STEM fields*, cultivating a dynamic, highly skilled workforce ready for tomorrow.⁵ It is important to create suitable incentives for Kuwaitis and to invest in their continuous education and future-oriented reskilling, especially to foster engagement in the private sector.⁶ It is also crucial for Kuwait to strengthen monitoring and evaluating systems to continuously improve the education landscape.

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A significant portion (90%) of government revenues is derived from oil, while hydrocarbons and related products constitute about 84% of total exports. ¹  Kuwait’s exports continue to be primarily raw materials, with little value added beyond extraction. The entrepreneurial culture and the role of the private sector are still evolving, given that the public sector employs around 80% of Kuwaiti nationals with attractive incentives. Consequently, private sector employment is less appealing to nationals, and it largely relies on expatriate workers. ² Currently, Kuwait ranks 83 in the Ease of Doing Business Index.

In conjunction with educational reforms, Kuwait has the opportunity to improve the migration policy and enhance its business environment by adapting regulations to improve the ease of doing business. This is in addition to strengthening the innovation system, fostering a culture of entrepreneurship and creativity through research and development and by promoting industry and offering a range of incentives, such as, but not limited to, financing and the provision of subsidies for the industrial development of land. These measures would foster a thriving industrial sector in the country.

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Kuwait encounters diverse challenges, such as addressing the impacts of climate change, ensuring water availability, reducing food import dependency and diversifying the economy. Data availability is also a key challenge for Kuwait. Additionally, there is a need to enhance the education system to better align it with the nation’s requirements.

A key step in addressing these issues – Kuwait has the opportunity to diversify its economy by focusing on high-value sectors and promoting the private sector's role. The country fosters entrepreneurs and SMEs through developing intermediaries to drive growth of the knowledge economy.¹

This will involve providing incentives for public-private-academia partnerships within the 2030 Agenda and Kuwait Vision 2035 framework, such as sponsorship of research facilities at universities and tax credits for R&D. These partnerships drive research and innovation in high-value sectors, sustainable environmental resource management, food security, energy efficiency and improved water-use efficiency, with a focus on sustainable finance ².

Kuwait faces challenges related to its government structure, machinery, public service quality, bureaucracy and policy coordination. The country's high ratio  of public employees to population at 10% compared to the international average of around 3 % contributes to issues related to efficiency. The duplication of roles and overstaffing of government entities have been identified as key factors affecting business operations, ranking 57th in the Global Competitiveness Report 2019-2020. Additionally, there are concerns about transparency, administrative processes and integrity in the public sector, which can result in discretionary decision-making and potential risks related to corruption and impartial competition. ¹

Kuwait has an opportunity to achieve its 2030 Agenda goals and to build robust institutions by advancing and implementing essential reforms, such as in civil service public administration, fiscal transparency, public participation and public employment, including in pay and compensation adjustments. Taking action on these reforms will pave the way for meaningful progress. ²

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Kuwait allocates 2.1% of its GDP to overseas development assistance through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, benefiting over 106 countries. Kuwait faces challenges in accessing data and strengthening its statistical capacity, which can affect the full alignment of cooperation with the SDGs’ achievement and monitoring its impact. Similarly, other Arab states also encounter obstacles in building robust statistical capacities. Nevertheless, technological advances present opportunities to enhance national statistical systems and improve policy-making processes.

Kuwait has a promising opportunity to enhance its efforts in becoming a knowledge economy by strategically investing in statistical infrastructure, training, and coordination with Arab states and international partners. This initiative can foster a culture of data-driven decision-making and sustainable development in the region. By taking the lead in providing capacity development and strategic advice to National Statistical Offices and data-related institutions, Kuwait can support the development of comprehensive national statistical strategies, offer statistical training and education and promote methodological standardization, with a focus on the SDGs in the region. This approach will contribute significantly to the advancement of the sustainable development goals in Kuwait and the Arab states.