from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Kuwait
Introduction
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
Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq
and Saudi Arabia
Geographic 29 30 N, 45 45 E
coordinates:
Map Middle East
references:
Area: total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - slightly smaller than New Jersey
comparative:
Land total: 462 km
boundaries: border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km
Coastline: 499 km
Maritime territorial sea: 12 nm
claims:
Climate: dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
Terrain: flat to slightly undulating desert plain
Elevation lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
extremes: highest point: unnamed location 306 m
Natural petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas
resources:
Land use: arable land: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0.17%
other: 98.99% (2005)
Irrigated 130 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and
hazards: 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 - limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's
current largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities
issues: provide much of the water; air and water pollution;
desertification
Environment - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change,
international Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
agreements: Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping
Geography - strategic location at head of Persian Gulf
note:
People
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 3.52%
growth rate: 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 15.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
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 total: 9.71 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 10.72 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 8.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 77.2 years
expectancy at male: 76.13 years
birth: female: 78.31 years (2006 est.)
Total 2.91 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 0.12% (2001 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - NA
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - NA
deaths:
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
Country name: conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait
local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt
local short form: Al Kuwayt
Government constitutional hereditary emirate
type:
Capital: name: Kuwait
geographic coordinates: 29 20 N, 47 59 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC
during Standard Time)
Administrative 6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al
divisions: Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli,
Mubarak Al Kabir
Independence: 19 June 1961 (from UK)
National National Day, 25 February (1950)
holiday:
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 chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah
branch: (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
Ismail al-SHATTI (since 10 July 2006)
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 unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50
branch: seats; members elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms)
elections: last held 29 June 2006 (next to be held in
2010)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA;
note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio
members of the National Assembly
Judicial High Court of Appeal
branch:
Political none; formation of political parties is illegal
parties and
leaders:
Political a number of political groups act as de facto parties;
pressure several legislative blocs operate in the National
groups and Assembly: tribal groups, merchants, Shi'a activists,
leaders: Islamists, and secular liberals
International ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC,
organization IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM,
participation: 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 chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM Abdallah al-Jabir
representation al-Sabah
in the US: chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702
FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Richard LEBARON
representation embassy: Bayan 36302, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street
from the US: (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
FAX: [965] 538-0282
Flag three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and
description: 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
Economy - Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with
overview: 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 $47.36 billion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $52.76 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 8.3% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $20,300 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 0.4%
composition by industry: 47.9%
sector: services: 51.6% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 1.67 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor
force (2005 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: NA%
by occupation: industry: NA%
services: NA%
Unemployment 2.2% (2004 est.)
rate:
Population NA%
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: NA%
income or highest 10%: NA%
consumption by
percentage
share:
Inflation rate 4.1% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 14.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $47.21 billion
expenditures: $20.77 billion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: 12.1% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - practically no crops; fish
products:
Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and
repair, desalination, food processing, construction
materials
Industrial 13.1% (2005 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 38.19 billion kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 100%
production by hydro: 0%
source: nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - 35.52 billion kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2003)
imports:
Oil - 2.418 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
production:
Oil - 305,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: 1.97 million bbl/day (2003)
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Oil - proved 96.5 billion bbl (2005 est.)
reserves:
Natural gas - 8.3 billion cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 8.3 billion cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2002 est.)
exports:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2002 est.)
imports:
Natural gas - 1.572 trillion cu m (2005)
proved
reserves:
Current $26.92 billion (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $44.43 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - oil and refined products, fertilizers
commodities:
Exports - Japan 19.6%, South Korea 15.3%, US 11.8%, Taiwan 11%,
partners: Singapore 9.5%, Netherlands 4.7% (2005)
Imports: $12.23 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - food, construction materials, vehicles and parts,
commodities: clothing
Imports - US 14%, Germany 10.7%, Japan 8.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.2%,
partners: UK 5.6%, France 4.8%, China 4.5% (2005)
Reserves of $8.972 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $16.12 billion (2005 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $NA (2001)
recipient:
Currency Kuwaiti dinar (KD)
(code):
Currency code: KWD
Exchange Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.292 (2005), 0.2947
rates: (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications
Telephones - 510,300 (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 2.38 million (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
system: 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 AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 1.175 million (1997)
Television 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 875,000 (1997)
Internet .kw
country code:
Internet 2,310 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 3 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 700,000 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 7 (2006)
Airports - total: 4
with paved over 3,047 m: 1
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - total: 3
with unpaved 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
runways: under 914 m: 2 (2006)
Heliports: 5 (2006)
Pipelines: gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2006)
Roadways: total: 4,450 km
paved: 3,587 km
unpaved: 863 km (1999)
Merchant total: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,424,983 GRT/
marine: 3,996,755 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 2, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia
5, UAE 8) (2006)
Ports and Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Az Zawr (Mina' Sa'ud),
terminals: Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi
Military
Military Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Air Force, National Guard
branches: (2006)
Military 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military
service age service; 1 month annual training to age 40; women have
and served in police forces since 1999 (2001)
obligation:
Manpower males age 18-49: 864,745
available for females age 18-49: 467,120 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 737,292
for military females age 18-49: 405,207 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 18,743
reaching females age 18-49: 20,065 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $3.01 billion (2005 est.)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 4.2% (2005 est.)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint
international: maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary
exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf
Trafficking in current situation: Kuwait is a destination country for
persons: men and women who migrate legally from South and
Southeast Asia for domestic or low-skilled labor, but
are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude by
employers in Kuwait including conditions of physical
and sexual abuse, non-payment of wages, confinement to
the home, and withholding of passports to restrict
their freedom of movement; Kuwait is reportedly a
transit point for South and East Asian workers
recruited for low-skilled work in Iraq; some of these
workers are deceived as to the true location and nature
of this work, and others are subjected to conditions of
involuntary servitude in Iraq; in past years, Kuwait
was also a destination country for children exploited
as camel jockeys, but this form of trafficking appears
to have ceased
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Kuwait is placed on
the Tier 2 Watch List because its efforts are based
largely on pledges of future actions