Al Farwaniyah Governorate

Al Farwaniyah Governorate is Kuwait's most populous administrative division—a 197.9 km² territory that recorded 1.11 million residents in the 2021 census with estimates reaching 1.2 million by 2024. The governorate hosts Kuwait International Airport, positioning it as the primary gateway for the 68% of Kuwait's population who are foreign nationals. At 6,223 inhabitants per square kilometer (June 2024 estimate), Farwaniya maintains the highest population density among Kuwait's governorates—a concentration driven by affordable housing for middle-income expatriate workers. The Farwaniya Commercial Area attracts retail and dining establishments serving this dense population, while industrial zones employ workers in manufacturing and logistics. Unlike the petroleum focus of Al Ahmadi or the governmental concentration of Al Asimah, Farwaniya represents Kuwait's service and commercial economy: the governorate functions as a residential dormitory for workers whose labor enables operations across all sectors. This demographic reality—over 1 million predominantly expatriate residents—makes Farwaniya a microcosm of Kuwait's unusual population structure.