Compare Arctic Ocean (2001) - Kuwait (2005)

Compare Arctic Ocean (2001) z Kuwait (2005)

	Arctic Ocean (2001)	Kuwait (2005)

Administrative divisions	-	5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 27.2% (male 323,382/female 311,700) 15-64 years: 70.1% (male 1,045,589/female 591,243) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 40,439/female 23,295) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	practically no crops; fish
Airports	-	7 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 14.056 million sq km note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies	total: 17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US	slightly smaller than New Jersey
Background	The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean.	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.
Birth rate	-	21.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $35.82 billion expenditures: $19.53 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	-	Kuwait
Climate	polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow	dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
Coastline	45,389 km	499 km
Constitution	-	approved and promulgated 11 November 1962
Country name	-	conventional long form: State of Kuwait conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt
Death rate	-	2.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	-	$15.02 billion (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	chief of mission: Ambassador Richard LEBARON embassy: Bayan, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 539-5307, 5308 FAX: [965] 538-0282
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 364-2868
Disputes - international	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)	Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf
Economic aid - recipient	-	NA (2001)
Economy - overview	Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals.	Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with proved 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.
Electricity - consumption	-	30.16 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	-	32.43 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m highest point: sea level 0 m	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m
Environment - current issues	endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack	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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping
Ethnic groups	-	Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%
Exchange rates	-	Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001), 0.3068 (2000)
Executive branch	-	chief of state: Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 31 December 1977); Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdullah al-Salim al-Sabah head of government: Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 13 July 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior NAWWAF al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers JABIR MUBARAK al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 2001) and Muhammad Dayfallah al-SHARAR (since 2003) 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
Exports	-	1.97 million bbl/day (2003)
Exports - commodities	-	oil and refined products, fertilizers
Exports - partners	-	Japan 20.5%, South Korea 13.7%, US 12.4%, Singapore 11.3%, Taiwan 9.9% (2004)
Fiscal year	-	1 April - 31 March
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
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 0.4% industry: 60.5% services: 39.1% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $21,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	6.8% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	90 00 N, 0 00 E	29 30 N, 45 45 E
Geography - note	major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months	strategic location at head of Persian Gulf
Heliports	-	3 (2004 est.)
Highways	-	total: 4,450 km paved: 3,587 km unpaved: 863 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Imports	-	NA
Imports - commodities	-	food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing
Imports - partners	-	US 12.9%, Germany 11.9%, Japan 7.9%, UK 5.5%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, Italy 5%, France 4.5%, China 4.1% (2004)
Independence	-	19 June 1961 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-	-5% (2002 est.)
Industries	-	petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births male: 10.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	2.3% (2004 est.)
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, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	-	60 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	High Court of Appeal
Labor force	-	1.42 million note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture NA, industries NA, services NA
Land boundaries	-	total: 462 km border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km
Land use	-	arable land: 0.73% permanent crops: 0.11% other: 99.16% (2001)
Languages	-	Arabic (official), English widely spoken
Legal system	-	civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Islamists 21, government supporters 14, liberals 3, and independents 12; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 77.03 years male: 76.01 years female: 78.1 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.)
Location	body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Map references	Arctic Region	Middle East
Maritime claims	-	territorial sea: 12 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,319,082 GRT/3,768,828 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 20 registered in other countries: 19 (2005)
Military branches	-	Land Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense Force), National Guard (2002)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$2,584.5 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	5.3% (2004)
National holiday	-	National Day, 25 February (1950)
Nationality	-	noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti
Natural hazards	ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May	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
Natural resources	sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales)	petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas
Net migration rate	-	14.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2004)
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
Population	-	2,335,648 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	NA
Population growth rate	-	3.44% note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US)	Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)
Religions	-	Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%
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: 1.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
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
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; 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
Telephones - main lines in use	-	486,900 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	1.42 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	-	13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)
Terrain	central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)	flat to slightly undulating desert plain
Total fertility rate	-	2.97 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	2.2% (2004 est.)

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