Kuwait (2004) | Atlantic Ocean (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.5% (male 316,237; female 304,671)
15-64 years: 69.8% (male 1,007,298; female 569,128) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 38,408; female 21,807) (2004 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | practically no crops; fish | - |
Airports | 7 (2003 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.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
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Area | total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 76.762 million sq km
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US |
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. | The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the St. Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south. |
Birth rate | 21.85 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $29.41 billion
expenditures: $17.57 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
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Capital | Kuwait | - |
Climate | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters | tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to November |
Coastline | 499 km | 111,866 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 |
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Currency | Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) | - |
Death rate | 2.44 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $12.18 billion (2003 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 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM al-Abdallah Jabir Al Sabah
chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 364-2868 |
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Disputes - international | Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) |
Economic aid - recipient | NA (2001) | - |
Economy - overview | Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 98 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. | The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily trafficked sea routes, between and within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Other economic activity includes the exploitation of natural resources, e.g., fishing, the dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea). |
Electricity - consumption | 29.29 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 31.49 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
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 | endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% | - |
Exchange rates | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001), 0.3068 (2000), 0.3044 (1999) | - |
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 |
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Exports | 1.97 million bbl/day (2003) | - |
Exports - commodities | oil and refined products, fertilizers | - |
Exports - partners | Japan 21.3%, South Korea 14.9%, US 11.5%, Singapore 9.8%, Taiwan 9.3% (2003) | - |
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 | purchasing power parity - $41.46 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 59.5% services: 40% (2003) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (2003 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 N, 45 45 E | 0 00 N, 25 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf | major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean |
Heliports | 3 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 4,450 km
paved: 3,587 km unpaved: 863 km (1999 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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Imports | NA (2003) | - |
Imports - commodities | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing | - |
Imports - partners | US 14.7%, Japan 10.3%, Germany 9.6%, China 6.6%, UK 6.1%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, Italy 5%, France 4.2% (2003) | - |
Independence | 19 June 1961 (from UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | -5% (2002 est.) | - |
Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, construction materials | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: 10.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (2003 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 | 1.38 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force. (2003 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA, industries NA, services NA | - |
Land boundaries | total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
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Land use | arable land: 0.73%
permanent crops: 0.11% other: 99.16% (2001) |
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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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.84 years
male: 75.86 years female: 77.86 years (2004 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.) |
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Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia | body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western Hemisphere |
Map references | Middle East | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | - |
Merchant marine | total: 38 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,319,082 GRT/3,768,828 DWT
by type: bulk 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 21, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: India 1, Saudi Arabia 1 registered in other countries: 5 (2004 est.) |
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Military branches | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force (including Air Defense Force), National Guard | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2,500.4 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.8% (2003) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 880,461 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 531,556 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 18,849 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | National Day, 25 February (1950) | - |
Nationality | noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
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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 | icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December) |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas | oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones |
Net migration rate | 14.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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 | 2,257,549
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) |
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Population below poverty line | NA | - |
Population growth rate | 3.36%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2004 est.) |
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Ports and harbors | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud | Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco), Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran (Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm (Sweden) |
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: 1.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 | flat to slightly undulating desert plain | surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin |
Total fertility rate | 3.03 children born/woman (2004 est.) | - |
Transportation - note | - | Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways; significant domestic commercial and recreational use of Intracoastal Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coast of US |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% (2003 est.) | - |