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Introduction | Kuwait

Background:

Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91.

Geography | Kuwait

Location: | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: | 29 30 N, 45 45 E
Map references: | Middle East
Area: | total: 17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries: | total: 462 km border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km
Coastline: | 499 km
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
Terrain: | flat to slightly undulating desert plain
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m
Natural resources: | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas
Land use: | arable land: 0.84% permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.99% (2005)
Irrigated land: | 60 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August
Environment - current issues: | limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping
Geography - note: | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf

People | Kuwait

Population: | 2,418,393 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 26.9% (male 331,768/female 319,895) 15-64 years: 70.3% (male 1,085,721/female 613,746) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 42,460/female 24,803) (2006 est.)
Median age: | total: 25.9 years male: 28 years female: 22.3 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: | 3.52% note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2006 est.)
Birth rate: | 21.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: | 2.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: | 15.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.71 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 9.71 deaths/1,000 live births male: 10.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 77.2 years male: 76.13 years female: 78.31 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 2.91 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.12% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA
Nationality: | noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti
Ethnic groups: | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%
Religions: | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%
Languages: | Arabic (official), English widely spoken
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.)

Government | Kuwait

Country name: | conventional long form: State of Kuwait conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt
Government type: | constitutional hereditary emirate
Capital: | Kuwait
Administrative divisions: | 6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir
Independence: | 19 June 1961 (from UK)
National holiday: | National Day, 25 February (1950)
Constitution: | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962
Legal system: | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: | adult males who are not in the military forces, and adult females (as of 16 May 2005); all voters must have been citizens for 20 years

Executive branch:

chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Sabah
head of government: Prime Minister NASIR al-Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 7 February 2006); First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006) and Muhammad Dhayfallah SHARAR (since 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the amir
elections: none; the amir is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the amir

Legislative branch: | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - Islamists 21, government supporters 14, liberals 3, independents 12; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly
Judicial branch: | High Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: | none; formation of political parties is illegal
Political pressure groups and leaders: | a number of political groups act as de facto parties; several legislative blocs operate in the National Assembly: tribal groups, merchants, Shi'a activists, Islamists, and secular liberals
International organization participation: | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 364-2868
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard LEBARON embassy: Bayan 36302, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 259-1001, 259-1002 FAX: [965] 259-1438, 538-0282
Flag description: | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; design, which dates to 1961, based on the Arab revolt flag of World War I

Economy | Kuwait

Economy - overview:

Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 96 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country.

GDP (purchasing power parity): | $53.31 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $55.8 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 5.6% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $22,800 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 0.5% industry: 52.1% services: 47.4% (2005 est.)
Labor force: | 1.67 million note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: | 2.2% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: | NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 3.5% (2005 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 6.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $47.21 billion expenditures: $20.77 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: | 17.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: | practically no crops; fish
Industries: | petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials
Industrial production growth rate: | -5% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production: | 38.19 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 35.52 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production: | 2.418 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 305,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: | 1.97 million bbl/day (2003)
Oil - imports: | NA bbl/day
Oil - proved reserves: | 96.5 billion bbl (2005 est.)
Natural gas - production: | 8.3 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 8.3 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2002 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2002 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 1.572 trillion cu m (2005)
Current account balance: | $31.51 billion (2005 est.)
Exports: | $44.43 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: | oil and refined products, fertilizers
Exports - partners: | Japan 20.5%, South Korea 13.7%, US 12.4%, Singapore 11.3%, Taiwan 9.9% (2004)
Imports: | $12.23 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing
Imports - partners: | US 12.9%, Germany 11.9%, Japan 7.9%, UK 5.5%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, Italy 5%, France 4.5%, China 4.1% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $9.296 billion (2005 est.)
Debt - external: | $14.93 billion (2005 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $NA (2001)
Currency (code): | Kuwaiti dinar (KD)
Currency code: | KWD
Exchange rates: | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001)
Fiscal year: | 1 April - 31 March

Communications | Kuwait

Telephones - main lines in use: | 497,000 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 2 million (2004)

Telephone system:

general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones
international: country code - 965; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: | 1.175 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)
Televisions: | 875,000 (1997)
Internet country code: | .kw
Internet hosts: | 2,439 (2005)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 3 (2000)
Internet users: | 600,000 (2005)

Transportation | Kuwait

Airports: | 7 (2005)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2005)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2005)
Heliports: | 4 (2005)
Pipelines: | gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2004)
Roadways: | total: 4,450 km paved: 3,587 km unpaved: 863 km (1999)
Merchant marine: | total: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,294,233 GRT/3,730,776 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 20 foreign-owned: 1 (Iran 1) registered in other countries: 29 (Bahrain 3, Comoros 1, Liberia 1, Libya 1, Panama 2, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 6, UAE 8) (2005)
Ports and terminals: | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Az Zawr (Mina' Sa'ud), Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi

Military | Kuwait

Military branches: | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense Force), National Guard (2002)
Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; since 1999 women have served in police forces (2001)
Manpower available for military service: | males age 18-49: 864,745 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 737,292 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually: | males: 18,743 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $3.01 billion (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 4.2% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues | Kuwait

Disputes - international: | Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf

This page was last updated on 29 March, 2006