Kuwaitis' marriages to foreigners down 27% in Q1

Cairo: Kuwaiti men's marriages to foreign women during the first three months of this year has declined by about 27% compared to the same period in 2024, according to statistics.

The total number of such marriages registered since January 2025 has reached 239 cases against 326 during the same period in 2024.

According to a nationality breakdown, tying the knot between Kuwaiti men and Gulf women topped the list in the first quarter of this year, with 74 marriage contracts, a 60% drop from last year.

Marriages to women of unspecified citizenship or the Bidoon came second with 30 cases, followed by Iraqi and Syrian women with 26 each, Asian women with 23, and Egyptian women with 14 cases.

The tally during the cited period also included marriages to 12 Jordanian women, six Lebanese women, two Yemeni women, five European women, two US women, three African women, and 16 women of other nationalities.

Kuwait, a country of 4.9 million people, has seen its lowest marriage rate in the past five years in 2023, alongside a significant increase in divorce rates, according to recent figures.

In 2023,  538 Kuwaiti men took a second wife, 51 others married for the third time while three took a fourth wife

The highest divorce rate in the country in 2023 was recorded among Kuwaiti men in May with 629 cases and with 208 among non-Kuwaitis, data from the Central Statistical Bureau showed.