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Kuwait is not a happy place

According to the 2012 Happy Planet Index, out of 151 countries researched, Kuwait came in at 143! ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY THREE out of 151! The index uses global data on life expectancy, experienced well-being and Ecological Footprint to calculate this score. The happiest place? Costa Rica. If you want to check out the full ranking as well as more details on how the whole thing is ranked you can download the PDF file from [Here]

Back in 2009 Kuwait was 128 out of 143.

107 replies on “Kuwait is not a happy place”

When I flew into kuwait the other evening I felt like I was entering this dark hemisphere and as I embarked into that airport and looked around the scene was scary -I saw the faces of doom. I understand fully how this place made this rating. What is further unsettling about this place is the overall dysfuction of the country, how grossly mismanaged every aspect of this nation is and when I read your post about Zuma, I wondered how you, an intelligent young man would not think that maybe Dubai would hold a better future for yourself and your family. Did you look around the room at the attractive people in the room who actually look happy and did you notice the customer service. I admire that you want to stick it out, but I really think right now this country has no future unless the government steps up to the plate and implements the 30bn development plan. Who would live here? It’s disgusting.

If I’m going to leave Kuwait I wouldn’t leave it for Dubai. If I’m going to move my life to a different country and start all over then that country better be some damn country and Dubai isn’t that. Munich, Montreal, LA etc.. maybe but not Dubai.

Mark you didn’t give a reason why you are against living in Dubai and would like to know it.

I’m not defending Dubai in anyway, I don’t like the whole gulf region as I grew up in Kuwait until the 1990 and haven’t looked back.

rephrasing the last sentence:
I’m not defending Dubai in anyway, I don’t like the whole gulf region as I grew up in Kuwait until the 1990 and that’s when we left it and haven’t looked back.

Sorry I thought I did. Dubai and Kuwait are very similar when your break it down to the very basics:

Desert + malls + money

Yeah they have pubs, some shity clubs and laws that are respected but they also have random shit that doesn’t make sense.

Kuwait on the other hand is a place I grew up in, it’s my home and I’m not here for just the money, I’m here cuz of my friends, my home, my fcking ghetto neighborhood and the history i have with the place. If I was going to leave all that behind I wouldn’t leave it for Dubai, how would my life be that much different in Dubai? Not much.

question how does a family of 4 non kuwaiti not a US Citizen no husband no source of employment and 1 maid survive in a 3bd2ba apt for ten years?

Dubai is a glitzy trap built upon slave labor but it looks like their marketing really worked on you. Have fun going to jail because your job fired you!

El7amdellah there is nothing wrong with kuwait! I am not a kuwaiti but live here for 3 years! It surprises me and everyday is a new beautiful day! Seeing people smile and go to one of the biggest mall in kuwait… I fail to seek the bad side of kuwait, there isn’t any. The best part is there are people from every single country and the kuwaiti citizens greet us and help us through our journy in kuwait! Ahmad you should actually come to kuwait and see it with your eyes! I think you were lieing when you said you have seen this place because me being in kuwait for 3 years and i can’t find a major flaw. Kuwait isn’t my country but i consider it my counrty and you should see it before you speak.

I stopped reading it when I saw Pakistan at number 16. Must be the exciting drone attacks to liven up life there.

If you know something called “Life” you would understand the index.

Pakistan has got some of the most beautiful hill station and landscape to live. Media is not everything you see.

There you go. Rehab nailed it. ‘Happiness’ quote unquote is not just money. see, how much money people in Kuwait spend in malls, people of south Asia or Eastern European countries don’t do that, still they look happy because they are thankful for whatever they’ve got.

yeah! they work with their arses yet they are still smiling… 😛

unlike some people driving their super expensive cars but no time to smile.. 😉

yak not all people in kuwait r unhappy so what they go to malls and to rehab thats is happiness to some… r u kuwaiti if not than u dont have a say in this

Srilanka ranks 11 in highest suicide !! So which way they happy? May be the guy who prepared the list did a survey with the honeymooners !!!

A chart was not necessary to say it.

With new kind of rules everyday imposed on expats who make the majority of Kuwait population. It is understood Kuwait tops sadness level.

You’re saying this and you’re an expat… we as Kuwaitis are now also afraid with all those new rules. One could easily be sentenced to jail for up to four years for tweeting something silly. Add to that what we read at the official government news paper of families loosing their citizenship and you realize that we’re more fucked than any expat. if you don’t like it here you can always leave. but for us this is home, where we belong and where we want to live the rest of our lives. it hurts to see how deep we’re sinking. allah kareem.

Well talking of countries like srilanka and Pakistan…I can believe people are happier. There is drive, passion, ambition, natural beauty, months of good weather etc having all the luxuries isn’t really what makes people happy in long run.

In simple words, life in the middle east is dull compared to the rest of the world. we are here to earn money so we gotta sacrifice the happiness in the rest of the world

I don’t know if you’re old enough to know the game Theme Park. It was a great game and one thing it thought me was you can’t have a place with everything. If you want to build your park in a popular location you need to pay more money for that land. If you don’t want to spend money for the location then expect less foot traffic to your park. Simple game but it made me realize there is no one country with everything.

its utter nonsense … 2 reasons … whats is Saudi doing up at 13 …… how can Pakistan be happier than USA and AUS …

I am assuming the Islamic laws makes a huge difference, obviously it does when compared to the rate of rapes/murders/robberies,etc in US..

Do people who comment here read what this list is based on?

“The index uses global data on life expectancy, experienced well-being and Ecological Footprint to calculate this score.”

I have a feeling people are just reading the headline and leaving a comment.

If Kuwait is not a happy place why does everyone wants to live here? Kuwait is my happy place and there is no place like it… Mark you always post negative things about Kuwait yet u left your own country!!!…why don’t you post negative things about Lebanon? Oh don’t get me wrong i love Lebanon I love Kuwait I love Dubai ,,, the thing is being happy doesn’t mean u live in a country according to ur rules..
Kuwait will always be a happy place if ppl are not happy i guess no one is forcing you to live here,, يا غريب كن أديب …. For Kuwaitis هاذي الكويت محد يطلع من يزا هالديرة ps: if you don’t like it work on making a better place dont just blah blah blah about it

heeeeere we go.
i’m Kuwaiti – born and raised – and i hate Kuwait, shloon ya3ni? i hate it for what it’s become – a corrupt, boring, lifeless country that does nothing for it’s citizens than shut us up with money/kawader/zeyadat.
use the money to build better hospitals. i’m literally SCARED to set foot in a mustaw9ef or government hospital because of the POOR healthcare i’ve received in the past, misdiagnosis that actually killed a member of my family, and them giving us back someone else’s x-ray and CT scans and telling us we are okay just because they were TOO LAZY TO CHECK THE NAME ON THE FILE.
upgrade the TERRIBLE education system; make kids WANT to learn and research and invent and create!! not sit around in class cussing out their teachers and cutting class to go have a cigarette behind the baqala and PAYING TUTORS TO DO THEIR WORK.
fix the roads, stop cutting electricity in the middle of the infernal summer, BUILD A NEW CITY for crying out loud!
what good is free healthcare and education when the quality is that of a third world country?! we have ZERO cultural activities. something as simple as an opera house or a nice theater where decent shows can be held! no, we have masra7 kaifan oo masra7 7awalli that are about to collapse and feature “entertainment” that just stand on stage and make fun of each other.
the government needs to step up and the ministries need to actually start doing their jobs and establish a better networking system so that we don’t have to drive around like headless chickens to update something as simple as your civil ID information. why can’t we just be more ORGANIZED? instead of giving 3athari and her buddies down at wezarat ilshu2oon a salary just so they can clock in, eat falafel and clock out, HIRE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY WANT TO WORK AND GIVE THEM WORK! why do matters take so freakin’ LONG to develop in this country? THAT’S what makes me sad. our national assembly is a JOKE and our government doesn’t care about us.
we (i.e. the younger generation) have tried several ways to “make it a better place” but it’s basically useless watering the leaves when the roots of the tree are dead!
yes i’m Kuwaiti, but no i don’t love it, and if you think that just because you’re Kuwaiti you are indebted to this country and you automatically have to love it, then congratulations – you are the poster child of what people in this country SHOULDN’T be. open your eyes and look around you. is this where you want your kids to grow up? where you want them to get healthcare? where you want them to receive an education? not me.

Lazy kids is a parenting issue not a government issue. The government isn’t responsible for people teaching their kids not to be dicks.

You can’t hire people that want to work because the constitution says all Kuwaitis must be given jobs no matter what. Again, shitty parenting.

It’s a cultural issue. You could have amazing schools and hospitals and people still don’t raise their kids. Raise yours properly.

i have lived outside of Kuwait, and if i was given the chance to go back and live outside of Kuwait forever, I would.
you’re right about the parenting; it does play a role. but hasn’t this country indirectly taught us to be lazy, unambitious, and passive? why do we keep getting “gifts” (or bribes as i like to call them) from the government for sitting around in ministries doing nothing? why does the government insist on taking forever when it comes to road construction? why don’t they hire MOTIVATED Kuwaitis to work and change the way our country works instead of hiring people by the thousands just so they can have jobs because theyre entitled because they’re Kuwaiti? if they’re not inspired enough to work, then don’t hire them. simple. if i had a ministry-esque work ethic somewhere outside of Kuwait, for example the States, i’d get fired in a heartbeat.
it’s not JUST about parenting. i spend 8-9 hours a day at work; how i conduct myself and the people/environment i’m surrounded by shapes my personality as well. if i’m a lazy unmotivated slob, i take that with me everywhere i go. hire qualified and motivated people. why does everything have to be a free ride just because we have a blue passport and a jinsiya?
my father taught me to work for EVERYTHING i have, including my weekly allowance when i was a kid. during the time which i applied for jobs, he told me that there was no way was6a would be involved. if i got a job, it means i was qualified and i deserve that position. other Kuwaitis were taught that everything comes for free and that we are better than everyone else.
riddle me this – if a Kuwaiti working at a Starbucks/McDonalds instead of a Filipino was THE NORM, how do you think that would change our society? you think another Kuwaiti would yell at and demean his Kuwaiti barista if he got his order wrong? the other day i got out of my car and pumped my own gas because i was in a hurry and a man all but screamed at me and told me to get in my car and let the Hindi do it. why?
why are we always cushioned and let expats do “the dirty work”? tara ma7ad shayelna ghairhum and yet we complain they they’re taking over the private sector. if someone’s not able to do something efficiently and in a timely fashion, hire someone that can. if someone’s capable of doing something, then give them the opportunity. people are good at different things. let our government focus on cultivating our talents rather than herding us all to different ministries to fill empty chairs.
do you know how many times i’ve heard Kuwaiti girls say “way abi wezarat _______ ma 3indihum sheghel a7la shay ab9em warid ilbeit anam”.
my American/European/Asian friends, on the other hand, will feel discouraged if they don’t get a job in one place but will try to apply their OTHER skills somewhere else and work their way up from there.
bottom line, ilKuwaitiyeen mt3almeen 3alkesal wilrebada and it’s bringing us down collectively.
you can agree or you can disagree, but these are my observations.

And again I’ll say this is 100% related to parenting. I’ve seen parents that encourage this behavior and that’s why it exists. I agree the government shouldn’t facilitate it but you’d need to rewrite the constitution for that, it’s one of the first articles.

In 10 years Kuwaitis will work in retail stores, I’m sure of it. The workforce is going to grow way faster than the government can keep up, the govt. is putting pressure on private companies to take the load and fining them if they don’t, and eventually the pressure will be large enough to put them into store roles.

+ You know why you can’t go back and live there? Because life is so much easier here. In the real world you don’t live with your parents looking for jobs, you pay rent while you work in a restaurant looking for jobs.

and what makes you so sure that that’s the reason why I can’t move away from Kuwait? I’ve paid rent before and even here in Kuwait I pay for my car and buy my own groceries and do everything I need for myself by myself. The only thing keeping me here is that my parents are old and I’m an only child.
I could care less about having an easy life. I don’t want it. I want to work hard for everything I earn. People here don’t understand value because most of them haven’t lifted a finger to get half the shit they own. I prefer not to take the easy way out, so please don’t assume that I came back because I needed some cushioning and a silver spoon.

and why do I have to wait 10 years to see my fellow citizens work in retail? Why can’t they do that now? Is it not a paying job? Or is it beneath them? Something tells me that if retail functioned anything remotely close to a government sector job, Kuwaitis would be flocking to that shit. But they say things like “anaaaa ashteghel baya3a?! Eshayfeeni?!” because surprise surprise it involves hard work and dealing with customers and effort in general. Our country would be nothing without expats, and there is no sadder realization than that.

massive respect pickles! And I hope youre not offended when I say, there’s very few Kuwaitis that I would say that to.

A Kuwaiti with a ‘normal’ mentality. Godness me, who would’ve thunk it!! Kudos to you Pickles! Btw, I’m not 100% sure, but I think I’ve seen Kuwaitis working in The Sultan Centre.

I’m Kuwaiti andI like it SOOOOOO MUUCHH Kuwait is my whole life . A mistake mn the goverment doesn’t mean the whole kuwaiti’s are losers .. The generations are ruining Kuwait the little kids who aren’t even a real kuwaiti’s . Did you went to a Kuwaiti doctor one day did you search about the Kuwaiti scientists ? Did you saw the other country prisedents how do they rule their countries and citizens ? All who you’re talking about aren’t Kuwaitis wetha Kuwaitis 10% . They aren’t giving us money to Shut our mouths. Tkhaylay entay mu3aisha blkuwait you have no money you should pay for taxes For dentist appointments schools etha u have no money for private schools . Etha u don’t like them because if the governments then grow up and return the old great government , or do you think it’s cool hating the place you born and lived in . Maybe because you lived in عز you don’t know how to thank your god maybe you need to live in Africa and poor places to feel , at least we have no homeless . At least we live with our family , Muslims and respect god . Etha you don’t like the malls then why do you go ? Why don’t you visit bait Abdullah and volonte

I’m Kuwaiti andI like it SOOOOOO MUUCHH Kuwait is my whole life . A mistake mn the goverment doesn’t mean the whole kuwaiti’s are losers .. The generations are ruining Kuwait the little kids who aren’t even a real kuwaiti’s . Did you went to a Kuwaiti doctor one day did you search about the Kuwaiti scientists ? Did you saw the other country prisedents how do they rule their countries and citizens ? All who you’re talking about aren’t Kuwaitis wetha Kuwaitis 10% . They aren’t giving us money to Shut our mouths. Tkhaylay entay mu3aisha blkuwait you have no money you should pay for taxes For dentist appointments schools etha u have no money for private schools . Etha u don’t like them because if the governments then grow up and return the old great government , or do you think it’s cool hating the place you born and lived in . Maybe because you lived in عز you don’t know how to thank your god maybe you need to live in Africa and poor places to feel , at least we have no homeless . At least we live with our family , Muslims and respect god . Etha you don’t like the malls then why do you go ? Why don’t you visit bait Abdullah and help the kids there , why don’t you visit bait alsadu or Dickson house . Why dont you join a gym or whatever . Boredom isn’t because where you are . People controls their life not the place controls them. Either they make it perfect or boredom dead lifeless place. You’re that kind of people who never ever think outside the box. Try to , your life will change . Try to pray the five . Read some books if you have a free time ترى الحياة عجيبة is recommended . If you’re not that type of people you can read Quran its a cure if you feel bored lifeless and exhausted . You think I’m silly but سألي مجرب . I swear that your life is gonna change upside down. You’ll be full of life you will feel free respected loved and protected. Itha you think that freedom isnt available in Kuwait . Then you’re wrong. You know nothing about Kuwait rules or islam. Jad you should Your problem isn’t because of Kuwait it’s all about YOU !

truly money can’t buy happiness. regardless of the criteria they have set; in general kuwait is not a happy place.

I wish we would cut down the foreign labor in half. Most of them are unskilled and just crowding the place. As for Jubai, I really don’t like it. In fact, I hate it. Too plastic. If I want to booze up, I go to England. If I want to smoke, I go to Amsterdam and if I want a beach, I go to Bali. Jubai to a Kuwaiti is like Tijuana to an American, a close by city with lots of prostitutes & drugs, nothing more.

Jubai: That’s how the Brits pronounce Dubai.

All that “unskilled foreign labor” is here because Kuwaitis hire them.
No expat works here unless they’re sponsored by a Kuwaiti or Kuwaiti owned company, so Kuwaitis have only themselves to blame.
They can always hire fewer foreign laborers and start doing these jobs themselves.
When will that happen?

In a country that does not allow for dual citizenship, and does not allow for immigration it can have that score. However, if that is one of the main reasons that Kuwait has that score it’s better to have a number telling us how we should feel when the reality is in countries with nice weather like France are getting so many new nationals to their country that they will eventually lose their cultural influence in their own country.

If the poll asked men vs women then the results would also be different.

And it’s all about perception and who the majority is, and who’s included in the population. Are there immigrants that affect the happy score?

Also a lot of the negativity is compounded by the negative reaction. That’s the power of the masses. If a majority of non kuwaitis have not nice things to say then that becomes the perception despite how things actually are. And something as simple as a perception can make the something enjoyable or not. For example when thinking about how a negative person will ruin a party with their negativity.

So it’s difficult to take the sense of well being as an accurate measure when there is no sense of urgency of life and death in Kuwait. There is food, and there are no natural disasters. That should increase the sense of well being to focus on enjoying their life, but with negative perceptions looming, it brings everyone down.

It could be due to places having Disney land withdrawal that it effects these results.

We need Disney rehab. Then things will make more sense. I want a massage from Minnie.

GCC must be all the same

there is no big difference at all

i have relatives in every country

it’s the same shit

except Oman i think it’s the best in middle east

I agree. I love Oman as well. Beautiful landscape, friendly locals and the people drive without arrogance and anger.

I can already predict myself getting flamed for this comment but whatever, here goes.

I’m a bit iffy about some of the places near the top of the list, but I can honestly understand why Kuwait ranks so low. Yes, every place has its good and bad sides blah blah blah, but in Kuwait we either get so much of the same good thing [i.e. burger joints] that we become numb to it/them or everything goes from bad to worse [i.e. Parliament].

First, some of the good:
– Kuwait is brilliant for Kuwaitis: subsidized healthcare, public education, money from the government, public job security, dirt-cheap gas… nifty benefits.
– Relatively modern by third-world standards
– Decent infrastructure
– Fantastic food/retail scene

Other things come to mind but when you look at the bad, that’s when things tank:
– No form of law enforcement whatsoever; lackluster police who just don’t care and a population that’s seemingly contemptuous towards any form of authority
– A Parliamentary body that keeps squabbling and trying to turn Kuwait into a fundamentalized Islamic state all while holding the rest of the country back from major developments
– Crappy hospitals, crappy schools, low education standards, horrible roads, a crumbling airport, no reliable public transport
– Lack of morale in Kuwaitis; many people are too blase to do anything, work hardly gets done and too many people are just plain rude
– Promises of major projects that keep getting scaled back and pushed further and further away to eventually become pipe dreams
– Expats, who form the life force of this country, have little to no rights, get treated like cattle and are often belittled, humiliated and disregarded by Kuwaitis

The list goes on.

Being a Kuwaiti and seeing how the rest of the world or even our local neighbors are trying to advance takes a toll on my well-being. Knowing that Kuwait has the near-infinite potential to become something amazing and having the resources for it yet being held back over spurious matters without anyone doing something about it is demoralizing. If we sit back and do nothing, we’re lazy. If we talk about it in our homes and diwaniyas, we’re all talk and no action. If someone speaks out against it, that’s treasonous and boom, jail time. As soon as some global ranking comes out denouncing Kuwait as unhappy or in a negative light, we throw our arms up and cry bloody murder.

Bottom line: we’re trapped in a vicious circle of negative energy. We need a paradigm shift and total reform that should stem from within – a want to better ourselves and to better Kuwait for ourselves and those around us. I, for one, would love to live in a Kuwait that people can look up to and be proud of; what’s holding us back from realizing that?

You basically revovle your argument around the work force, and certain governmental projects. You use others to bring you down, and that’s the problem with you and others.

The government as a government is doing fine.

However, all other facilities can be private. Therefore it’s not the governments fault, or others fault. It’s the fault of those who don’t take action and invest into the private sector. And the private sector is even subsidized to encourage development and there are low taxes for corporations and the tax system discourages dividend payments which for a corporation is a good thing to continue investing to avoid double taxation. 

So schools, privately can be good.

Hospitals that are private can be good.

Infrastructure can still be privatized. And that could be the current problem and how private companies take government projects and are not doing it properly.

Even energy can be privatized. Who’s stopping people from getting solar energy? Or starting solar energy companies to sell to houses?

The government does not interfere with private issues and things based on contracts is more based on those who agree to those terms. If there is a contract agreement should the government intervene on every contract to make sure it is perfect. A general education should provide people with enough common sense to not use up so much time of the government to look at every contract. Yet there are still standards which are based on the supply and demand of the work force. And the bad treatment of labors is a general statement. Have you never had a bad day with a laborer? I have gotten sodomized by a laborer before, and I am a guy. Do you think i have a positive opinion of them, and how they are also robbing certain companies? Not all are bad, but they are not all victims but angry laborers who ate very uneducated.

So the government can do things better, but depending on the government for everything is the problem more than the lack of infrastructure that nobody seems interested in developing, or private sector that is not properly expanded on. Also I assume it’s a calculated investment and the public sector matching the private sector. So if the private sector is small then that affects the reason to invest even more into the public sector. Since investing more into the public sector without a private sector becomes more of a tax on the economy.

Unless we turn the economy that is productive in some way to generate revenue then a small private sector is not good enough to invest even more into the public, and like I said it’s not bad at all. For example Dubai and generates a lot of revenue from tourism, real estate investment, and companies setting up shop. They are generating more revenue.

Money cant buy you Happiness.

In other news.. Saudi “Shake” treats the Happy planet Index author to land at 56. Meanwhile in Kuwait his long lost brother smokes sheesha with a sly smile.

Guys read how the list is calculated – Ecological footprint? What the hell does that have to do with happiness?

Stupid

Seriously people?

What usually arises in our beloved Kuwait is that there are more people that do not care about improving Kuwait’s living standards. Why the passive attitude?

Mark contributed to Kuwait more than most of us. If you’re so unhappy about the situation in Kuwait then why don’t you express it in the parliament, or does that require a lot of work?

Guys it’s depends how you live your lives you can be happy if you want to be,if your unhappy just be like that for the rest of your life. nothing will change,you just need to accept how the country is,well it’s just pointless to comment nothing will happen…..

Unless you do something.. /:(

Hi, i would like join workforce in kuwait . i have two years work experience with bank of newyork mellon as well as done ((MBA)masters of business administration in finance from Pune university in India. What are the qualities they required ?On the basis of above details, how much salary do i need to expect from kuwait companies?Is there any chance to get job over there ? Thank you for your prompt reply !!

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