Kuwait Stock Exchange retains its 'Secondary Emerging Market' classification by FTSE Russell

Kuwait has retained its classification in the secondary emerging markets category by FTSE Russell, according to the latest stock market classification release issued in October 2026, which showed that the Kuwaiti market remains in this category without any change.

The report indicated that the secondary emerging markets category includes 14 markets, among them Kuwait, alongside China, Colombia, Egypt, Iceland, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, based on the classification as of October 6, 2026.

The report reviewed Kuwait’s historical classification trajectory, noting that FTSE Russell announced on September 29, 2017, the upgrade of Kuwait from an unclassified market to a secondary emerging market, with the upgrade to be implemented in two equal stages. The first stage, representing 50%, took effect when the market opened on September 24, 2018, while the remaining 50% was implemented upon the market’s closure on December 24, 2018. Since then, Kuwait has remained within the secondary emerging markets category under FTSE Russell.

The October 2026 release confirmed Kuwait’s continued presence in the same category, without including any new announcement regarding an upgrade or downgrade of the Kuwaiti market’s classification, merely affirming Kuwait’s current position within FTSE Russell’s global market classification system.

Kuwait’s retention in the secondary emerging markets category in FTSE Russell’s 2026 annual review, published on October 6, occurred without any change to the status of the Kuwaiti market or its inclusion on the watchlist, as the classification kept Kuwait in the same category as part of FTSE Russell’s periodic review of global stock markets.