Kuwait’s ICT and telecommunications landscape is undergoing a transformative period as the country accelerates toward the digital ambitions laid out in New Kuwait 2035. Oversight of the sector is led by the Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA), which was established in 2014. Together with the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), CITRA is responsible for driving large-scale digital initiatives including e-government services, cloud infrastructure and data privacy regulation. Key policy actions — such as the phasing out of 3G networks, new data protection rules and the rollout of fibre-optic broadband — are reinforcing Kuwait’s digital foundation. Meanwhile, flagship projects like Microsoft’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Azure Region and the Fibre in the Gulf (FIG) subsea cable signal strong momentum in international connectivity and cloud capabilities. With near-universal internet access and record-high mobile speeds, Kuwait is working to position itself as a digital leader while making good on the country’s ambitions laid out in New Kuwait 2035.
Oversight
Kuwait’s ICT and telecoms sectors are regulated by CITRA. Prior to this, all telecoms and ICT related activities fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Communications (MoC). CITRA now serves as the primary administrative entity and is tasked with ensuring efficiency, transparency, fairness and competition across the sector. It protects users’ rights, oversees service providers, sets regulations and pricing frameworks, and promotes investment by maintaining a competitive and innovation-friendly environment. The entity is also responsible for issuing and updating telecom licences in the country while adapting to newer technologies as they come online.
CITRA operates through five specialised sub-segments: policies and regulations, supervision, strategy and governance, corporate services, and infrastructure and operations. Together, these functions shape policy, monitor compliance, manage strategy and monitor cybersecurity across Kuwait’s digital infrastructure. In 2024, CITRA announced that it would be fully phasing out Kuwait’s 3G network by June 2025, allowing the authority to put more resources into enhancing and expanding the country’s 4G and 5G services.
CITRA works closely with CAIT when it comes to the rollout and adoption of various government technology projects. As part of New Kuwait 2035 goals, CAIT aims to digitalise over 90% of government services by 2030. The initiative focuses on building a national data centre and leveraging new technologies to improve efficiency and enhance services for its citizens.
CAIT also organises and runs the country’s flagship digital event, Digital Transformation Kuwait. Held for the fourth time in 2025, it is billed as the leading platform for steering Kuwait’s digital journey in alignment with New Kuwait 2035. The 2025 edition gathered government authorities, industry leaders, digital transformation strategists and global tech innovators to discuss progress as well as the challenges of successful implementation. Key focus areas that year included showcasing innovative new technologies in services, such as health care, utilities, education and finance; as well as strengthening cybersecurity, digital trust and resilience for critical national infrastructure. Another key focus area is the acceleration of AI adoption to optimise government operations, service delivery and citizen engagement; and connecting decision-makers with technology innovators to build strategic partnerships and drive sectoral excellence.
Confidence Boost
A key piece of Kuwait’s digital transformation vision hinges on its ability to instil strong business confidence in the country’s digital infrastructure. To this end, in February 2024, CITRA issued the new Data Privacy Protection Regulation, superseding the previous directive from 2021. The new regulation applies to all service providers licensed by CITRA and covers the collection, processing and storage of personal data gathered both inside or outside of Kuwait. Its key provisions include obtaining users’ informed consent before processing personal data, applying strict encryption safeguards to protect personal data, and notifying CITRA and affected individuals of any data breach within 24 hours, unless effective protection measures were already in place.
In 2022 the government established the National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC) as the regulator for all cybersecurity activities in the country. In partnership with CAIT and Microsoft, the NCSC launched its Zero Trust cybersecurity framework in 2022 and rolled it out across all government entities. The initiative is aimed at countering evolving and increasingly complex cyber threats, strengthening digital services and enhancing the sophistication of Kuwait’s cybersecurity apparatus.
Hand in hand with these efforts, there are various initiatives working to raise awareness and build knowledge around cybersecurity. These include the National Bank of Kuwait’s six-month tech academy launched in 2025 to develop local cybersecurity skills; a memorandum of understanding signed between the NCSC and the Kuwait College of Science and Technology in March 2025 to deepen research and development capabilities in cybersecurity; the third edition of the Cyber First Kuwait Conference held in April 2025; and a national cybersecurity awareness campaign run by the NCSC and the Ministry of the Interior in October 2025 to coincide with Global Cybersecurity Day.
Size & Performance
According to Indian research firm Mordor Intelligence, Kuwait’s ICT sector was worth $20.4bn in 2025 and is forecast to grow to $34.4bn by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1%. A separate report published by UK-based research firm Global Data in 2024 put the sector’s value at $19.5bn in 2023, with a five-year CAGR of 7.3%, estimating a market value of roughly $27.7bn by 2028. Meanwhile, 2024 figures cited by the US Department of Trade project a bigger market value of $39.8bn by 2028, up from $22.5bn in 2023.
According to Mordor, IT services held the largest revenue share in 2025 with 36.5%, while IT security services are growing fast and are forecast to expand at a CAGR of 10% by 2031. Although large enterprises accounted for 64% of the country’s ICT market share in 2024, the government is now focusing on targeting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) growth with government procurement reforms set to reserve up to 10% of ICT tenders for SMEs. As such, the SME market share is projected to expand at CAGR of 9.9% to 2030. In terms of ICT services end users, government and public administration represented 27.6% of revenue share in 2024. E-gaming is also quickly emerging as a leader in the sector, fuelled by the country’s youthful demographic and policies designed to expand and position Kuwait as a regional gaming events centre. Projections suggest the sector will expand at a CAGR of 10.7% from 2025 through 2030.
Growth in Kuwait’s ICT sector is being underpinned by New Kuwait 2035, which prioritises the digitisation of the economy. In 2025, Microsoft partnered with the Kuwaiti government, represented by CAIT and CITRA, to establish an AI-powered Azure Region — a cluster of locally based data centres delivering cloud computing, data storage and advanced AI services within the country. The initiative will enhance data sovereignty, strengthen cybersecurity compliance, accelerate digital transformation, and position Kuwait as a regional leader in AI and technology innovation.
Speaking at the announcement in 2025, Omar Saud Al Omar, minister of state for communication affairs, praised the leadership of the country’s Emir and crown prince in driving forward the country’s digital ambitions. He said the partnership represents “a transformative milestone towards utilising AI technologies to drive economic diversification and enhance the nation’s position in innovation, trade and investment. The AI-powered Azure Region will address both national and local challenges, creating a robust AI ecosystem that fuels economic growth, improves public services and prepares the workforce for the future.”
Telecommunications
According to mobile sector research provider GSMA Intelligence, there were 7.78m cellular mobile connections in Kuwait at the start of 2025. This figure is equivalent to roughly 156% of the total population, with many people using multiple phones for personal and work purposes. This figure is expected to grow even further in the coming years, fuelled by factors including multi-SIM ownership, an increase in smartphone subscriptions, and the rise of machine-to-machine and internet of things (IoT). According to CITRA, Kuwait enjoyed universal 4G coverage across the country in 2020. By 2024, 97% of the population had access to 5G services. Additionally, CITRA’s announcement in 2025 that it would phase out 3G is expected to further accelerate spectrum reuse for 5G to maximize cellular capacity.
Kuwait’s telecoms market is dominated by three players: Zain, which is based in Kuwait and listed on the national stock exchange, Boursa Kuwait; Ooredo Kuwait, which has its headquarters in Qatar; and stc, a subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Company. Zain Group was established in Kuwait in 1983 as the region’s first mobile operator. As of June 2025, it had a workforce of around 7900 and over 50.9m active individual and business customers. The group operates in eight markets across Africa and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Sudan, South Sudan and Bahrain. Zain is fully publicly traded with a 100% free float and no restrictions or ownership limits on its shares. According to figures published by Zain in 2024, its major shareholders are the Group of Oman Telecommunications, which holds the largest stake at 21.1%; the Kuwait Investment Authority, with 15.9%; the Public Institution for Social Security, with 5.5%; and the Group of Al-Sharq Holding Company, with 5.1%.
Zain’s 50.9m user figure from June 2025 is an increase in its customer base of 49m six months earlier after marking a 3% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline. This fall was largely attributed to the steep 29% decline of users in Sudan as a result of the ongoing war in the country. Gains in other markets, notably Iraq (10%), South Sudan (10%), Jordan (5%) and Saudi Arabia (4%) helped offset this drop. The group has enjoyed healthy expansion over the past few years, with total revenue growing from KD1.6bn ($5.3bn) in 2020 to KD2bn ($6.4bn) in 2024, an expansion of 21.4%. In Kuwait, the company enjoys a 33% market share, the equivalent of 2.6m customers and recorded total revenue of $609m in 2024, with an average revenue per user of $24.
Established in 1987 as the Qatar Public Telecommunications Corporation, Ooredo provides mobile, broadband internet and corporate managed services to a global customer base of 146.2m as of 2024 in markets across North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In 2024, the group achieved record reported net profit of QA3.4bn ($920m), up by 14% y-o-y. In Kuwait, revenue reached KD264m ($860m), up 7% on the previous year, with in-country customer base of 2.9m. Technological innovation was a major focus in 2024, with strides made in 5G technology, the successful deployment of 5G standalone and IoT capabilities, and the launch of Narrowband IoT technology to enhance connectivity for smart industries. Ooredo Kuwait is the country’s first telecom operator to integrate Narrowband into its network. stc Kuwait was established in 2008 as a subsidiary of the Saudi-owned stc Group. stc was listed on Boursa Kuwait in 2014, and in 2019 the company fully acquired Qualitynet General Trading and Contracting Company, Kuwait’s leading internet service provider, to further capitalise on emerging opportunities in the Kuwaiti telecoms market. stc posted revenue of KD336.5m ($1.1bn) in 2024, a net profit of KD31.4m ($102m) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of KD85.3m ($278m). As of 2024, the company had 66 branches in Kuwait and a total subscriber base of 2.3m, equating to a roughly 35% market share. Major milestones for the company in 2024 included being upgraded from the main market to the premier market on the Boursa Kuwait, preparation for the rollout of the new spectrum for 5G Advanced network, and the signing of a land agreement to build stc’s new and more modern headquarters in the country’s capital, which was inaugurated in early 2026.
Internet
As of January 2025, there were around 4.9m internet users in the country, equivalent to an overall penetration rate of 99% (according to DataReportal which caps internet penetration rates at 99%). Ookla, which provides analysis of internet access performance metrics worldwide, reported that users enjoyed a median mobile (3G, 4G and 5G connections) internet download speed of 399.9 Mbps in January 2026, ranking it the third-fastest mobile internet worldwide. Meanwhile, for fixed broadband, Kuwait recorded a median speed of 226.2 Mbps, putting it 24th worldwide and well above the global average of 118 Mbps. Ookla also noted that the median mobile internet download speed in Kuwait rose by 74.48Mbps, or 39.4%, in a 12-month period up until January 2025, while the average download speed of fixed internet connection in the country increased by 51.91 Mbps, or 35%, over the same period. Given the speed of mobile internet download speeds, it is unsurprising that the majority of Kuwaitis access the internet with their phones, with fixed-internet rates in the country historically lagging behind regional peers. According to GSMA Intelligence, active – broadband subscriptions in the country reached 156% of the population at the start of 2025. As of January 2025, there were 4m active social media users in Kuwait, the equivalent of 80% of the country’s population, with Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn the most popular platforms.
Network Expansion & Upgrade
A central pillar of New Kuwait 2035 focuses on enhancing fixed broadband across the country to bolster digital infrastructure for tech start-ups and e-commerce, while supporting longer-term plans to further develop smart cities. In line with this, the MoC declared its renewed commitment in September 2023 to completing the final phase of a delayed national fibre-optic broadband rollout. The initial phases had reached 55% of Kuwaiti households by 2018, but progress since slowed. However, in January 2024, the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP), along with the MoC, invited a request for qualifications submissions for the fixed telecommunications Network Development in Kuwait. The project will establish a public-private partnership (PPP) for the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and transfer of an extensive high-speed fibre broadband network for the country. Additionally, according to the 50-year partnership agreement, the company for the project will have the right to utilise the MoC’s active and passive infrastructure. The awarded company will commit to enhancing the fibre networks and expand coverage to 90% of households and businesses within five years of the PPP agreement, which also includes a maximum five-year period for design, financing and construction.
More recently, a landmark agreement for Kuwait’s digital development was reached in March 2025 when Ooredoo Group and CITRA signed an agreement to land the FIG submarine cables in Kuwait, securing the project’s first landing point. The FIG project will create a high-capacity and fully integrated subsea network throughout the GCC and the wider region, and will be the largest subsea cable ever built in the area. At peak capacity it will deliver 720Tbps across 24 fibre pairs, more than the current combined capacity of all existing and planned Gulf cables. The project will help underpin Kuwait’s digital transformation ambitions, enhancing network resilience and improving digital capabilities for businesses, cloud-service providers, data centres and telecoms operators. “This agreement is a major step towards Kuwait’s vision of becoming a regional leader in digital transformation,” said CITRA’s then-director general, Abdullah K. Alajmi, at the signing ceremony in 2025. “By bringing the FIG submarine cable to Kuwait, we are strengthening the country’s position as a critical node for global data transit while ensuring that businesses and consumers benefit from enhanced network reliability, faster internet speeds and a future-ready digital infrastructure.” The FIG cable is scheduled to be ready for service by the end of 2027.
Tech Development
Kuwait’s start-up ecosystem is more nascent than some of its regional peers, with the Global Start-up Ecosystem Index 2025 ranking the country 10th in the MENA region and 89th globally, up two places from the previous year. In May 2025, MENA start-ups raised $289m, and while the bulk of this was captured by Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia, Kuwait came in fourth place with two national start-ups securing $6m in funding. Elsewhere, Kuwaiti financial technology (fintech) start-up Motery, a digital automotive service, completed its seed funding round at an $8m valuation. Meanwhile, Kuwaiti payments platform MyFatoorah, which serves 90,000 businesses, was flagged among the top-10 MENA fintechs in 2025 by Arabfounders.net. Furthermore in 2025, Zain announced the expansion of its start-up accelerator programme in Kuwait, Zain Great Idea, to also include neighbouring countries such as Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia.
Outlook
Kuwait’s ICT sector is expected to sustain robust growth in the coming years, with market value projected to reach over $32bn by 2030, with double-digit expansion predicted for key segments such as IT security and cloud services. The government’s emphasis on fibre broadband and 5G advanced networks will also continue to drive connectivity gains across the country, while major partnerships with cloud providers and telecom operators will expand data capacity and resilience. At the same time, business confidence in the government’s digital infrastructure is being increasingly strengthened through enhanced cybersecurity measures, awareness campaigns and talent development with local higher education institutions. Although Kuwait’s start-up ecosystem remains nascent compared to its regional peers, new funding rounds for fintech and logistics ventures combined with accelerators like Zain Great Idea, signal growing investor interest in the country. The challenge ahead, however, lies in scaling innovation and SME participation in the ICT sector while developing necessary local skills to feed and support local businesses while ensuring cybersecurity resilience keeps pace with increasingly sophisticated and fast-evolving threats.
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