|
| 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. |
| Location: |
Middle
East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between
Iraq and Saudi Arabia |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
29
30 N, 45 45 E |
| Map
references: |
Middle
East |
| Area: |
total:
17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly
smaller than New Jersey |
| Land
boundaries: |
total:
464 km
border countries: Iraq 242
km, Saudi Arabia 222 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
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
sq km (1993 est.) |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party
to: Climate Change,
Desertification, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection
signed, but not ratified:
Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine
Dumping |
| Geography
- note: |
strategic
location at head of Persian Gulf |
| Population: |
2,041,961
note: includes 1,159,913
non-nationals (July 2001 est.) |
| 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.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
3.38%
(2001 est.)
note: this rate reflects a
return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of
expatriates |
| Birth
rate: |
21.91
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
2.45
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
14.31
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| 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: 1.81
male(s)/female
total population: 1.51 male(s)/female
(2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
11.18
deaths/1,000 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.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.12%
(1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Kuwaiti
45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%,
Iranian 4%, other 7% |
| Religions: |
Muslim
85% (Sunni 45%, Shi'a 40%), Christian,
Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% |
| Languages: |
Arabic
(official), English widely spoken |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.6%
male: 82.2%
female: 74.9% (1995 est.) |
| 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 |
| Administrative
divisions: |
5
governorates (muhafazat, singular -
muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah,
Al Jahra', Hawalli |
| 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 |
| Suffrage: |
adult
males who have been naturalized for 30
years or more or have resided in Kuwait
since before 1920 and their male
descendants at age 21
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: |
unicameral
National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50
seats; members elected by popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
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 |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
several
political groups act as de facto parties:
Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a
activists, and secular leftists and
nationalists |
| 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)
chancery: 2940 Tilden Street
NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702
FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief
of mission: Ambassador Richard
H. JONES
embassy: Bayan, near the
Bayan palace, Kuwait City
mailing address: P. O. Box 77
Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait Unit 69000, APO
AE 09880-9000
telephone: [965] 539-5307,
ext. 2240
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 |
| 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. |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $29.3 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
6%
(2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
0%
industry: 55%
services: 45% (1996) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest
10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
3%
(2000) |
| Labor
force: |
1.3
million (1998 est.)
note: 68% of the population
in the 15-64 age group is non-national
(July 1998 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture
NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
1.8%
(official 1996 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$11.5 billion
expenditures: $17.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY01/02) |
| Industries: |
petroleum,
petrochemicals, desalination, food
processing, construction materials |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
1%
(1997 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
31.567
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil
fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
29.357
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0
kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0
kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
practically
no crops; fish |
| Exports: |
$23.2
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
oil
and refined products, fertilizers |
| Exports
- partners: |
Japan
23%, US 12%, Singapore 8%, Netherlands 7%
(1999) |
| Imports: |
$7.6
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
food,
construction materials, vehicles and
parts, clothing |
| Imports
- partners: |
US
15%, Japan 10%, UK 7%, Germany 7% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$6.9
billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$27.6
million (1995) |
| Currency: |
Kuwaiti
dinar (KWD) |
| 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) |
| Fiscal
year: |
1
April - 31 March |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
412,000
(1997) |
| Telephones
- 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 |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM
6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios: |
1.175
million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
13
(plus several satellite channels) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
875,000
(1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.kw |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
3
(2000) |
| Internet
users: |
100,000
(2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
4,450 km
paved: 3,590 km
unpaved: 860 km (1999 est.) |
| Pipelines: |
crude
oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km;
natural gas 165 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Ash
Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd
Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud |
| 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.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
4
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2000
est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
| Disputes
- international: |
in
November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the
UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had
been spelled out in Security Council
Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and
883 (1993); this formally ends earlier
claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah
islands |
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