Background: Kuwait has been ruled by the AL-SABAH dynasty since the 18th century. The threat of Ottoman invasion in 1899 prompted Amir Mubarak AL-SABAH to seek protection from Britain ceding foreign and defense responsibility to Britain until 1961 when the country attained its independence. 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 returned to power in 1991 and established one of the most independent legislatures in the Arab World. The country witnessed the historic election in 2009 of four women to its National Assembly. Amid the 2010-11 uprisings and protests across the Arab world stateless Arabs known as bidoon staged small protests in early 2011 demanding citizenship jobs and other benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Youth activist groups' repeated rallies in 2011 for the dismissal of a prime minister seen as being corrupt ultimately led to his resignation in late 2011. Demonstrations renewed in late 2012 in response to an Amiri decree amending the electoral law. The opposition led by a coalition of Sunni Islamists tribalists some liberals and myriad youth groups largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013 which ushered in a legislature more amenable to the government's agenda. However the opposition expressing strong opposition to the government’s fiscal reforms participated in the November 2016 National Assembly and won almost half of the positions. Since coming to power in 2006 the Amir has dissolved the National Assembly on seven occasions (the Constitutional Court annulled the Assembly in June 2012 and again in June 2013) and shuffled the cabinet over a dozen times usually citing political stagnation and gridlock between the legislature and the government.

Geographic coordinates: 29 30 N 45 45 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 17,818 km²
Land: 17,818 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 158
Comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries
Total: 475 km
Border countries: (2) Iraq 254 km; Saudi Arabia 221 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
Mean elevation: 108 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m: highest point: 3.6 km W. of Al-Salmi Border Post 300 m

Natural resources: petroleum fish shrimp natural gas

Land use
Agricultural land: 8.5%
Forest: 0.4%
Other: 91.1%

Irrigated land: 105 km² (2012)

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

Population
Distribution: densest settlement is along the Persian Gulf particularly in Kuwait City and on Bubiyan Island; significant population threads extend south and west along highways that radiate from the capital particularly in the southern half of the country: 2,875,422 (July 2017 est.)
Note: Kuwait's Public Authority for Civil Information estimates the country's total population to be 4,183,658 for 2015 with immigrants accounting more than 69%
Rank: 139
Growth rate: 1.46% (2017 est.)
Growth rate rank: 80
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Kuwaiti
Adjective: Kuwaiti

Ethnic groups: Kuwaiti 31.3% other Arab 27.9% Asian 37.8% African 1.9% other 1.1% (includes European North American South American and Australian) (2013 est.)

Languages: Arabic (official) English widely spoken

Religions: Muslim (official) 76.7% Christian 17.3% other and unspecified 5.9%
Note: represents the total population; about 69% of the population consists of immigrants

Age structure
0-14 years: 25.02%
15-24 years: 15.1%
25-54 years: 52.27%
55-64 years: 5.07%
65 years and over: 2.54% (2017 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 29.8
Youth dependency ratio: 27.1
Elderly dependency ratio: 2.7
Potential support ratio: 37.3

Median age
Total: 29.3 years
Male: 30.4 years
Female: 27.4 years
Rank: 123

Population growth rate: 1.46% (2017 est.)
Rank: 80

Birth rate: 19.2 births/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 84

Death rate: 2.2 deaths/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 224

Net migration rate: -2.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 170

Population distribution: densest settlement is along the Persian Gulf particularly in Kuwait City and on Bubiyan Island; significant population threads extend south and west along highways that radiate from the capital particularly in the southern half of the country

Urbanization
Urban population: 98.4% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 2.29% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: KUWAIT (capital) 2.779 million (2015)

Environment
Current issues: limited natural freshwater 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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
0-14 years: 1.08 male/female
15-24 years: 1.22 male/female
25-54 years: 1.72 male/female
55-64 years: 1.31 male/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male/female
Total population: 1.41 male/female

Infant mortality rate
Total: 7 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 6.8 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 7.2 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 162

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.2 years
Male: 76.8 years
Female: 79.6 years
Rank: 64

Total fertility rate: 2.4 children born/woman (2017 est.)
Rank: 84

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 1.95 physicians/1000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density: 2.2 beds/1000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: .1% (2016 est.)
People living with hivaids: 500 (2016 est.)
Deaths: 100 (2016 est.)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 37.9% (2016)
Rank: 11

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 3% (2014)
Rank: 120

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 95.7%
Male: 96.4%
Female: 94.5%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 14 years

Country name
Conventional long form: State of Kuwait
Conventional short form: Kuwait
Local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt
Local short form: Al Kuwayt
Etymology: the name derives from the capital city which is from Arabic 'al-Kuwayt' a diminutive of 'kut' meaning 'fortress encircled by water'

Government type: constitutional monarchy

Capital
Name: Kuwait City
Geographic coordinates: 29 22 N 47 58 E
Time difference: UTC+3

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

Independence: 19 June 1961 (from the UK)

National holiday: National Day 25 February (1950)

Constitution
History: approved and promulgated 11 November 1962
Amendments: proposed by the amir or supported by at least one-third of the National Assembly; passage requires two-thirds consent by the Assembly membership and promulgation by the amir; constitutional articles on the initiation approval and promulgation of general legislation cannot be amended

Legal system: mixed legal system consisting of English common law French civil law and Islamic religious law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Kuwait
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: not specified

Suffrage: 21 years of age and at least 20-year citizenship; universal; note - in early 2017 legislation was introduced to lower the voting age to 18 and instate suffrage for the armed forces and police

Executive branch
Chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah ; Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (born 25 June 1937)
Head of government: Prime Minister JABIR AL-MUBARAK al-Hamad al-Sabah ; First Deputy Prime Minister SABAH Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah; Deputy Prime Ministers al-KHALD al-Jarrah al-Sabah (since 4 August 2013) MUHAMMAD AL-KHALID al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 4 August 2013 Abd al-Muhsin al-MADAJ (since January 2014)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister approved by the amir
Electionsappointments: amir chosen from within the ruling family confirmed by the National Assembly; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the amir

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma
Elections: last held on 26 November 2016
Election results: preliminary results - opposition groups including those linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists 24 seats other 26

Judicial branch
Highest court: Constitutional Court ; Supreme Court or Court of Cassation (organized into several circuits each with 5 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: all Kuwaiti judges appointed by the Amir upon recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council a consultative body comprised of Kuwaiti judges and Ministry of Justice officials
Subordinate courts: High Court of Appeal; Court of First Instance; Summary Court

Political parties and leaders: none; while the formation of political parties is not permitted they are not forbidden by law

International organization participation: ABEDA AfDB (nonregional member) AFESD AMF BDEAC CAEU CD FAO G-77 GCC IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) LAS MIGA NAM OAPEC OIC OPCW OPEC Paris Club (associate) PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNRWA UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) 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] 966-0702
In the us FAX: [1] 966-8,468
In the us consulate general: Los Angeles
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Lawrence R. SILVERMAN
From the us embassy: Bayan 36,302 Block 13 Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street 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] 2,259-1001
From the us FAX: [965] 2,538-6,562

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top) white and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; colors and design are based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I; green represents fertile fields white stands for purity red denotes blood on Kuwaiti swords black signifies the defeat of the enemy

National symbols: golden falcon; national colors: green white red black

National anthem
Name: 'Al-Nasheed Al-Watani'
Lyrics and music: Ahmad MUSHARI al-Adwani/Ibrahim Nasir al-SOULA
Note: adopted 1978; the anthem is only used on formal occasions

Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 55

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 111

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 11

Gross national saving:
Rank: 44

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 47.6%
Government consumption: 27.3%
Investment in fixed capital: 30.2%
Investment in inventories: 0%
Exports of goods and services: 50.1%
Imports of goods and services: -55.3%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.4%
Industry: 59.6%
Services: 40%

Agriculture products: fish

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

Industrial production growth rate: 1.2% (2016 est.)
Rank: 139

Labor force: 2.612 million
Note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 60% of the labor force
Rank: 113
By occupation agriculture: NA%
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 31

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Budget
Revenues: $47.46 billion
Expenditures: $59.59 billion
Surplus or deficit: -11% of GDP (2016 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 201

Taxes and other revenues: 43.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
Rank: 29

Public debt:
Rank: 189

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 146

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 111

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 150

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 61

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 55

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 56

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 44

Current account balance:
Rank: 169

Exports:
Rank: 49
Commodities: oil and refined products fertilizers
Partners: South Korea 16.8% China 14.4% Japan 9.6% India 9.2% US 7.5% Singapore 5.6% (2016)

Imports:
Rank: 61
Commodities: food construction materials vehicles and parts clothing
Partners: China 14.1% US 11.9% UAE 8.3% Japan 6.5% Germany 6.2% India 5.4% Italy 5% Saudi Arabia 4.4% South Korea 4.4% (2016)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 49

Debt external:
Rank: 71

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 93

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 38

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access population without electricity: 56,655
Access electrification total population: 98%
Access electrification urban areas: 98%
Access electrification rural areas: 93%
Production: 63.84 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Production rank: 46
Consumption: 54.11 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 46
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 157
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 168
Installed generating capacity: 16 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 50
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 10
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 122
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 183
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 191

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 2.924 million bbl/day (2016 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 9
Crude oil exports: 1.656 million bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 9
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 145
Crude oil proven reserves: 101.5 billion bbl (1 January 2017 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 6

Refined petroleum
Products production: 920,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products production rank: 23
Products consumption: 500,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 35
Products exports: 400,000 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products exports rank: 20
Products imports: 11,900 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products imports rank: 137

Natural gas
Production: 16.91 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Production rank: 35
Consumption: 33.18 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 36
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 133
Imports: 4 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Imports rank: 37
Proven reserves: 1.798 trillion m³ (1 January 2017 es)
Proven reserves rank: 21

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 107 million Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 38

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 403,234
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 14
Fixed lines rank: 97
Mobile cellular total: 5,392,806
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 190
Mobile cellular rank: 100

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 4G LTE mobile-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 ; linked to Bahrain Qatar UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 6 (3 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean 1 Inmarsat - Atlantic Ocean and 2 Arabsat) (2017)

Broadcast media: state-owned TV broadcaster operates 4 networks and a satellite channel; several private TV broadcasters have emerged since 2003; satellite TV available with pan-Arab TV stations are especially popular; state-owned Radio Kuwait broadcasts on a number of channels in Arabic and English; first private radio station emerged in 2005; transmissions of at least 2 international radio broadcasters are available (2007)

Internet
Country code: .kw
Users total: 2,219,972
Users percent of population: 78.4%
Users rank: 93

Military expenditures:
Rank: 132

Military service age and obligation: 17-21 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription suspended (2012)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 3
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 31
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 3,655,366
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 275,777,666 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 9K (2016)

Airports: 7 (2013)
Rank: 168
With paved runways total: 4
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways total: 3
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 2

Heliports: 4 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 261 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2013)

Roadways
Total: 6,608 km
Rank: 148

Merchant marine
Total: 34
By type: bulk carrier 2 carrier 3 container 6 liquefied gas 4 petroleum tanker 19
Registered in other countries: 45 (2010)
Rank: 83

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Ash Shu'aybah Ash Shuwaykh Az Zawr Mina' 'Abd Allah Mina' al Ahmadi

Disputes international
Rank: li>a href='../rankorder/rankorderguide.html'>Guide to Country Comparisons: 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
Stateless persons: 93,000 ; note - Kuwait's 1959 Nationality Law defined citizens as persons who settled in the country before 1920 and who had maintained normal residence since then; one-third of the population descendants of Bedouin tribes missed the window of opportunity to register for nationality rights after Kuwait became independent in 1961 and were classified as bidun (meaning without); since the 1980s Kuwait's bidun have progressively lost their rights including opportunities for employment and education amid official claims that they are nationals of other countries who have destroyed their identification documents in hopes of gaining Kuwaiti citizenship; Kuwaiti authorities have delayed processing citizenship applications and labeled biduns as 'illegal residents' denying them access to civil documentation such as birth and marriage certificates