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 reconstituted the parliament, which dates back to 1962. 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. Other demographic groups, notably tribal Bedouins, soon joined the growing protest movements, which culminated in late 2011 with the resignation of the prime minister amidst allegations of corruption. Demonstrations renewed in late 2012 in response to an amiri decree amending the electoral law that disadvantaged tribal Bedouins.The opposition, led by a coalition of Sunni Islamists, tribal populists, and some liberals, largely boycotted legislative elections in 2012 and 2013, which ushered in a legislature more amenable to the government's agenda. Faced with the prospect of painful subsidy cuts, oppositionists and independents actively participated in the November 2016 election, winning nearly half of the seats. 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: 0 m
Note: lowest point: Persian Gulf

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas

Land use
Agricultural land: 8.5% (2011 est.)
Forest: 0.4% (2011 est.)
Other: 91.1% (2011 est.)

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: note: Kuwait's Public Authority for Civil Information estimates the country's total population to be 4,437,590 for 2017, with immigrants accounting for more than 69.5%
Note: (July 2017 est.) (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 138
Growth rate: 1.38% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 81
Below poverty line note: NA

Nationality
Noun: Kuwaiti(s)
Adjective: Kuwaiti

Ethnic groups: Kuwaiti 30.4%, other Arab 27.4%, Asian 40.3%, African 1%, other .9% (includes European, North American, South American, and Australian) (2018 est.)

Languages: Arabic (official), English widely spoken

Religions:

Age structure
0-14 years: 24.81% (male 376,652 /female 347,019)
15-24 years: 15.04% (male 240,638 /female 197,946)
25-54 years: 52.3% (male 961,205 /female 563,979)
55-64 years: 5.2% (male 85,146 /female 66,373)
65 years and over: 2.66% (male 35,117 /female 42,392) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 29.8 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 27.1 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 2.7 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 37.3 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 29.4 years
Male: 30.5 years
Female: 27.6 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 124

Population growth rate: 1.38% (2018 est.)
Rank: 81

Birth rate: 18.8 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 86

Death rate: 2.3 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 224

Net migration rate: -2.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 169

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: 100% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 1.78% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 2.989 million KUWAIT (capital) (2018)

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; loss of biodiversity
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(s)/female (2017 est.)
0-14 years: 1.08 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15-24 years: 1.22 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
25-54 years: 1.72 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
55-64 years: 1.31 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Total population: 1.41 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 6.8 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 6.6 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Female: 7 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Rank: 161

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.3 years (2018 est.)
Male: 76.9 years (2018 est.)
Female: 79.8 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 63

Total fertility rate: 2.35 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 84

Drinking water source
Urban: 1% of population
Rural: 1% of population
Total: 1% of population (2015 est.)

Physicians density: 2.61 physicians/1000 population (2015)

Hospital bed density: 2 beds/1000 population (2014)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 0% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 0% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate note: <.1% (2017 est.)
People living with hivaids note: <1000 (2017 est.)
Deaths note: <100 (2017 est.)

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

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 3% (2014)
Rank: 101

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2016 est.)
Total population: 95.7% (2016 est.)
Male: 96.4% (2016 est.)
Female: 94.5% (2016 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years (2013)
Male: 13 years (2013)
Female: 14 years (2013)

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, possibly a reference to a small castle built on the current location of Kuwait City by the Beni Khaled tribe in the 17th century

Government type: constitutional monarchy (emirate)

Capital
Name: Kuwait City
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

Independence: 19 June 1961 (from the UK)

National holiday: National Day, 25 February (1950)

Constitution
History: approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 (2016)
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 (2016)

Legal system: mixed legal system consisting of English common law, French civil law, and Islamic sharia 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 (since 29 January 2006); 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 (since 30 November 2011); First Deputy Prime Minister NASIR al-Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 12 December 2017); Deputy Prime Ministers SABAH al-KHALD al-Sabah (since 4 August 2013), KHALD al-Jarrah al-Sabah (since December 2016), Anas al-SALEH (since 2015)
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 (65 seats; 50 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 15 ex-officio members - cabinet ministers - appointed by the prime minister; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 26 November 2016 (next to be held in 2020)
Election results: seats won - oppositionists and independents, including populists, Islamists, and liberals 26, pro-government loyalists 24; composition for elected members only - men 49, women 1, percent of women 1.5%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Constitutional Court (consists of 5 judges); 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; although the formation of political parties is practically not permitted, their formation is not explicitly 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, UN Security Council (temporary), 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 (since 10 October 2001)
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) 966-8,468
In the us consulate: Los Angeles
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Lawrence R. SILVERMAN (since 5 October 2016)
From the us embassy: Bayan 36,302, Block 13, 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] 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 (National Anthem)
Lyricsmusic: Ahmad MUSHARI al-Adwani/Ibrahim Nasir al-SOULA: note: adopted 1978; the anthem is only used on formal occasions

Economy overview: Kuwait has a geographically small, but wealthy, relatively open economy with crude oil reserves of about 102 billion barrels - more than 6% of world reserves. Kuwaiti officials plan to increase production to 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2020. Petroleum accounts for over half of GDP, 92% of export revenues, and 90% of government income.With world oil prices declining, Kuwait realized a budget deficit in 2015 for the first time more than a decade; in 2016, the deficit grew to 16.5% of GDP. Kuwaiti authorities announced cuts to fuel subsidies in August 2016, provoking outrage among the public and National Assembly, and the Amir dissolved the government for the seventh time in ten years. In 2017 the deficit was reduced to 7.2% of GDP, and the government raised $8 billion by issuing international bonds. Despite Kuwait’s dependence on oil, the government has cushioned itself against the impact of lower oil prices, by saving annually at least 10% of government revenue in the Fund for Future Generations.Kuwait has failed to diversify its economy or bolster the private sector, because of a poor business climate, a large public sector that employs about 74% of citizens, and an acrimonious relationship between the National Assembly and the executive branch that has stymied most economic reforms. The Kuwaiti Government has made little progress on its long-term economic development plan first passed in 2010. While the government planned to spend up to $104 billion over four years to diversify the economy, attract more investment, and boost private sector participation in the economy, many of the projects did not materialize because of an uncertain political situation or delays in awarding contracts. To increase non-oil revenues, the Kuwaiti Government in August 2017 approved draft bills supporting a Gulf Cooperation Council-wide value added tax scheduled to take effect in 2018.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 58

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 214

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 15

Gross national saving:
Rank: 16

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 43.1% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 24.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 26.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 3.5% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 49.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -47% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.4% (2017 est.)
Industry: 58.7% (2017 est.)
Services: 40.9% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: fish

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

Industrial production growth rate: 2.8% (2017 est.)
Rank: 109

Labor force:
Rank: 112

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 11

Population below poverty line
Note: NA

Budget
Revenues: 50.5 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 62.6 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -10% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 210

Taxes and other revenues: 41.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 32

Public debt:
Rank: 188

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 83

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 113

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 154

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 60

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 60

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 53

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 45

Current account balance:
Rank: 26

Exports:
Rank: 50
Partners: South Korea 18.3%, China 17.4%, Japan 11.5%, India 11.2%, Singapore 6.3%, US 5.7% (2017)
Commodities: oil and refined products, fertilizers

Imports:
Rank: 70
Commodities: food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing
Partners: China 13.5%, US 13.3%, UAE 9.5%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, Germany 5.4%, Japan 5%, India 4.7%, Italy 4.5% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 48

Debt external:
Rank: 68

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 92

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 37

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access population without electricity: 56,655 (2012)
Access electrification total population: 98% (2012)
Access electrification urban areas: 98% (2012)
Access electrification rural areas: 93% (2012)
Production: 65.95 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 44
Consumption: 57.78 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 44
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 156
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 167
Installed generating capacity: 18.89 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 47
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 (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 122
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 182
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 196

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 2.753 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 9
Crude oil exports: 479,700 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 21
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 148
Crude oil proven reserves: 101.5 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 6

Refined petroleum
Products production: 915,800 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 22
Products consumption: 446,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 34
Products exports: 705,500 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 11
Products imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 212

Natural gas
Production: 17.1 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 34
Consumption: 21.72 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 36
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 133
Imports: 5.125 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 35
Proven reserves: 1.784 trillion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 19

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 106.5 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 41

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 542,082 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 19 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 93
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 5,136,384 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 179 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 118

Telephone system
General assessment: the quality of service is excellent;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 Kuwai; Internet access is available via 4G LTE connections for fixed and mobile users; 5G services launched in selected areas in 2018; high ownership of smart phone in Kuwait; one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world (2018)
Domestic: fixed-line subscriptions 19 per 100 and mobile-cellular stands at 179 per 100 subscriptions (2018)
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 - 6 (3 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, 1 Inmarsat - Atlantic Ocean, and 2 Arabsat) (2018)

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 (July 2016 est.)
Users percent of population: 78.4% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 109

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 113,427 (2017 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2017 est.)
Rank: 118

Military expenditures:
Rank: 8

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 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 31 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 3,655,366 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 275,777,666
Note: mt-km (2015)

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

Airports: 7 (2013)
Rank: 168
With paved runways total: 4 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2017)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 3 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 2 (2013)

Heliports: 4 (2013)

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

Roadways
Total: 6,608 km (2010)
Rank: 148

Merchant marine
Total: 161 (2017)
By type: container ship 1, general cargo 18, oil tanker 27, other 115 (2017)
Rank: 71

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Ash Shuaybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Az Zawr (Mina Saud), Mina Abd Allah, Mina al Ahmadi

Disputes international: Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iranno maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 92,000 (2017); note - Kuwaits 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 Kuwaits 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