Map of Kuwait | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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. The AL-SABAH family has ruled since returning to power in 1991 and reestablished an elected legislature that in recent years has become increasingly assertive.


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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: 462 km
Border countries: (2) 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
Extremes 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: 130 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

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

Geography
Note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf


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Population
Note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)
Growth rate note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2007 est.)
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 70% Shi'a 30%) other (includes Christian Hindu Parsi) 15%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 340,814/female 328,663)
15-64 years: 70.5% (male 1,128,231/female 636,967)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 44,542/female 26,342) (2007 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 26 years
Male: 27.9 years
Female: 22.4 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate
Note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2007 est.)

Birth rate: 21.95 births/1000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 2.39 deaths/1000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate: 16.05 migrant(s)/1000 population (2007 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: Marine Dumping

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.04 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.037 male/female
15-64 years: 1.771 male/female
65 years and over: 1.691 male/female
Total population: 1.526 male/female (2007 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 9.47 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 10.48 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 8.42 deaths/1000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.36 years
Male: 76.25 years
Female: 78.52 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.86 children born/woman (2007 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% (2001 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: 93.3%
Male: 94.4%
Female: 91% (2005 census)

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: constitutional emirate

Capital
Name: Kuwait
Geographic coordinates: 29 22 N, 47 58 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 6 governorates (muhafazat singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi Al 'Asimah Al Farwaniyah Al Jahra' Hawalli Mubarak Al Kabir

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: NA years of age; universal (adult); note - males in the military or police are not allowed to vote; adult females were allowed to vote 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-Jabir al-Sabah
Head of government: Prime Minister NASIR MUHAMMAD al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 3 April 2007); 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 Faysal al-HAJJI (since 5 April 2007)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the amir
Elections: none; the amir is hereditary; the amir appoints the prime minister and deputy prime ministers

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 29 June 2006 (next election to be held in 2010)
Election results: percent of vote by bloc - NA; seats by bloc - Islamic Bloc (Sunni) 17, Popular Bloc 9, National Action Bloc (liberals) 8, independents 16

Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: none; formation of political parties is in practice illegal but is not forbidden by law

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 IMSO Interpol IOC IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC LAS MIGA NAM OAPEC OIC OPCW OPEC PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNITAR UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM al-Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah
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 Richard LEBARON
From the us embassy: Bayan 36,302, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat 13,001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 9,880-9,000
From the us telephone: [965] 259-1001
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; design which dates to 1961 based on the Arab revolt flag of World War I

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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. High oil prices in recent years have helped build Kuwait's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. As a result of this positive fiscal situation the need for economic reforms is less urgent and the government has not earnestly pushed through new initiatives.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $55.96 billion (2006 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 12.7% (2006 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $23,100 (2006 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.4%
Industry: 56.9%
Services: 42.8% (2006 est.)

Agriculture products: practically no crops; fish

Industries: petroleum petrochemicals cement shipbuilding and repair water desalination food processing construction materials

Industrial production growth rate: 13.1% (2005 est.)

Labor force
Note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2006 est.)
By occupation agriculture: NA%
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%

Unemployment rate: 2.2% (2004 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: $60.29 billion
Expenditures: $35.9 billion (2006 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 8.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3% (2006 est.)

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: $128.9 billion (2006)

Current account balance: $51 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $58.64 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: oil and refined products fertilizers
Partners: Japan 20.4% South Korea 16.2% Taiwan 10.8% Singapore 9.7% US 9% Netherlands 5.3% China 4.1% (2006)

Imports: $14.35 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: food construction materials vehicles and parts clothing
Partners: US 14.1% Japan 7.8% Germany 7.7% Saudi Arabia 6.8% China 5.7% UK 5.4% Italy 4.6% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $12.68 billion (2006 est.)

Debt external: $25.26 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $818 million (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $13.3 billion (2006 est.)

Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.29 (2006) 0.292 (2005) 0.2947 (2004) 0.298 (2003) 0.3039 (2002)


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Electricity
Production: 41.11 billion kWh (2005)
Consumption: 36.28 billion kWh (2005)
Exports: 0 kWh (2005)
Imports: 0 kWh (2005)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 11.8 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Consumption: 11.8 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2005 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2005)
Proven reserves: 1.521 trillion m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 510,300 (2005)
Mobile cellular: 2.536 million (2006)

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; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .kw
Hosts: 2013 (2007)
Users: 816,700 (2006)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 5.3% (2006)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; reserve obligation to age 40 with 1 month annual training; women have served in police forces since 1999 (2006)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 7 (2007)
With paved runways total: 4
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 3
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 2 (2007)

Heliports: 4 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2006)

Railways

Roadways
Total: 5,749 km
Paved: 4,887 km
Unpaved: 862 km (2004)

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,195,831 GRT/3,566,308 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 3, petroleum tanker 21
Registered in other countries: 28 (Bahrain 3, Comoros 1, Liberia 1, Libya 1, Panama 1, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 6, UAE 8) (2007)

Ports and terminals: Ash Shu'aybah Ash Shuwaykh Az Zawr (Mina' Sa'ud) Mina' 'Abd Allah Mina' al Ahmadi


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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs