Health

The health profile of the Kuwaiti population has changed significantly in the past several decades. Kuwaiti citizens, who account for around 30% of the population of just over 4.2m, have become more prone to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). While deaths from infectious diseases are posing less and less of a threat, NCDs – the four main categories of which are heart disease, cancers, diabetes and upper respiratory diseases – accounted for 72% of deaths in Kuwait in 2015, according to the World Bank. In the coming years the government will aim to address the increasing prevalence of NCDs, which are also associated with rising health care costs. Efforts to reduce public health care expenditures will also require a shift in the financing of care for the large expatriate population, and solutions for this challenge are now being formulated.