Map of Kuwait | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: 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 completely liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait has spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91.


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Location: Middle East bordering the Persian Gulf between Iraq and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 29 30 N 45 45 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 17,820 km²
Land: 17,820 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries
Total: 464 km
Border countries: (2) Iraq 242 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
Extremes highest point: unnamed location 306 m

Natural resources: petroleum fish shrimp natural gas

Land use
Arable land: 0%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 8%
Forests and woodland: 0%
Other: 92% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 20 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April; they bring inordinate amounts of rain which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year but are most common between March and August

Geography
Note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf


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Population
Note: includes 1,159,913 non-nationals (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Kuwaiti
Adjective: Kuwaiti

Ethnic groups: Kuwaiti 45% other Arab 35% South Asian 9% Iranian 4% other 7%

Languages: Arabic (official) English widely spoken

Religions: Muslim 85% (Sunni 45% Shi'a 40%) Christian Hindu Parsi and other 15%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 28.76% (male 299,080; female 288,125)
15-64 years: 68.82% (male 897,839; female 507,527)
65 years and over: 2.42% (male 31,843; female 17,547) (2001 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate
Note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates

Birth rate: 21.91 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 2.45 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 14.31 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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
International agreements party to: Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.04 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 1.77 male/female
65 years and over: 1.81 male/female
Total population: 1.51 male/female (2001 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 11.18 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.27 years
Male: 75.42 years
Female: 77.15 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.2 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.12% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 78.6%
Male: 82.2%
Female: 74.9% (1995 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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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: nominal constitutional monarchy

Capital: Kuwait

Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi Al Farwaniyah Al 'Asimah Al Jahra' Hawalli

Dependent areas

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage
Note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for 30 years were eligible to vote for the first time

Executive branch
Chief of state: Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977)
Head of government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah (since 8 February 1978); First Deputy Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 17 October 1992); Deputy Prime Ministers JABIR MUBARAK al-Hamud Al Sabah (since NA) and MUHAMMAD KHALID al-Hamed Al Sabah (since NA)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the monarch
Elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 3 July 1999 (next to be held NA 2003)
Election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 50; 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

International organization participation: ABEDA AfDB AFESD AL AMF BDEAC CAEU CCC ESCWA FAO G-77 GCC IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat Intelsat Interpol IOC ISO ITU NAM OAPEC OIC OPCW OPEC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNITAR UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
In the us chancery: 2,940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702
In the us fax: [1] (202) 966-0517
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador James A. LAROCCO
From the us embassy: Bayan, near the Bayan palace, Kuwait City
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13,001 Safat, Kuwait Unit 69,000, APO AE 9,880-9,000
From the us telephone: [965] 539-5,307
From the us fax: [965] 538-0282

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top) white and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Kuwait is a small relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 94 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP 90% of export revenues and 75% 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. Higher oil prices put the FY99/00 budget into a $2 billion surplus. The FY00/01 budget covers only nine months because of a change in the fiscal year. The budget for FY01/02 which begins 1 April contains higher expenditures for salaries construction and other general categories. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 6% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0%
Industry: 55%
Services: 45% (1996)

Agriculture products: practically no crops; fish

Industries: petroleum petrochemicals desalination food processing construction materials

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (1997 est.)

Labor force
Note: 68% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.)
By occupation agriculture: NA%
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%

Unemployment rate: 1.8% (official 1996 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $11.5 billion
Expenditures: $17.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3% (2000)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $23.2 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: oil and refined products fertilizers
Partners: Japan 23% US 12% Singapore 8% Netherlands 7% (1999)

Imports: $7.6 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: food construction materials vehicles and parts clothing
Partners: US 15% Japan 10% UK 7% Germany 7% (1999)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $6.9 billion (2000 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.3057 (January 2001) 0.3067 (2000) 0.3044 (1999) 0.3047 (1998) 0.3033 (1997) 0.2994 (1996)


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Electricity
Production: 31.567 billion kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 100%
Production by source hydro: 0%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1999)
Consumption: 29.357 billion kWh (1999)
Exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 412,000 (1997)
Mobile cellular: 210,000 (1997)

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, open wire, and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones
International: 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

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .kw
Service providers isps: 3 (2000)
Users: 100,000 (2000)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $1.9 billion (FY00/01)
Percent of gdp: 8.7% (FY00/01)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 8 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 4
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 4
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 3 (2000 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 165 km

Railways: 0 km

Roadways

Waterways: none

Merchant marine
Total: 45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,461,072 GRT/3,966,645 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 6, container 6, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 20 (2000 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs