A TikTok on facts about Kuwait, that are likely to blow your mind, has gone viral. The half Kuwaiti-half Egyptian Nora, takes to her 11,000 and counting followers, to list her country’s wildest facts.
From all things money to the country’s geography (and their chocolate milk legacy?) she reveals things you might’ve never known about this GCC country.
The TikTok now sits as 1.3 million views, with comments like “I wanna live in Kuwait now” and “You’ve just made me want to visit Kuwait” pouring in.
Video courtesy of @norasdiscoveries
Below, GRAZIA unpacks, and fact-checks, all of her astounding facts, on the extraordinary GCC nation.
“We don’t pay tax”
She starts with a punch. It’s true Kuwait’s tax rate for foreigners amounts to a whopping zero percent. In fact, it’s one of the two countries in GCC that have yet to impose Value Added Tax (VAT) on its residents.
“A big fat thing of rice, flour and milk”
AKA Tamween. While Nora describes it as free, Tamween is actually a Government program that supplies discounted food items for Kuwaiti citizens.
The cost of parking
While the average fluctuates across the nation relatively speaking parking prices are far lower than most. “You park the whole day and pay like half a KD,” she exclaims. Which at least within context of the airport tracks, with its KWD2 (Dhs26 or $6) per day charge.
The strongest currency in the world
Nora second-guesses herself as she states this fact, but she needn’t. The Kuwaiti Dinar is in fact the highest currency in the world, per Forbes. A testament to the nation’s ever-growing and stable economic power.
“We have the best chocolate milk, I’ll argue”
“KDD chocolate, it’s a Kuwaiti-owned brand, and it’s delectable,” she sings. While we can’t say this is a Kuwaiti fact, saying its widely adored would be an understatement. A chocolate milk that’s loved throughout the region, and the world, this juice box holds nostalgic value to most Kuwaiti-raised kids.
“The Government Gives You Money To Get Married”
According to Nora, the government gives KWD 2000 (Dhs24,000 or $6400) to Kuwaiti couples upon getting married, which can turn into a monthly allowance depending on the eligibility of both people.
Education funding in abundance
“I was on a full scholarship and I was given a monthly allowance for four years,” she explains her personal testimonial. Adding that, “They also paid for my masters degree. No debt.”
Presented through the Kuwait Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education, the Kuwait Government Scholarships, are arguably some of the best in the world. Offering hundreds of grants to international and homegrown academics, Kuwait is a nation that consistently prioritises fostering educational prosperity, which is only evidenced by the influential outstanding women they keep fostering.
“I literally signed up and they said here you go”, she says when explaining the seamlessness of the process.
“You can tour the whole country in 4 hours”
The definition of small yet mighty, Kuwait is a geographically small nation. At 17,820 square kilometres, is the second smallest country in the GCC (after Bahrain). While we can’t confirm her ‘four-hour tour’ Kuwaiti fact, we can gather that getting places is probably a seamless and straightforward experience.
The cost of petrol
“A whole tank of gas is around £14,” Nora explains to her mostly British audience. And while the price of petrol usually differs on the daily, Kuwait sits as the 6th country with the cheapest petrol prices.
