Kuwait (2004) | Congo, Republic of the (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli | 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha |
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.) |
0-14 years:
42.43% (male 618,411; female 609,633) 15-64 years: 54.23% (male 765,501; female 804,125) 65 years and over: 3.34% (male 38,772; female 57,894) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | practically no crops; fish | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
Airports | 7 (2003 est.) | 33 (2000 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.) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total:
29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
342,000 sq km land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Montana |
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. | Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO. |
Birth rate | 21.85 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 38.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $29.41 billion
expenditures: $17.57 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
revenues:
$870 million expenditures: $970 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Kuwait | Brazzaville |
Climate | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator |
Coastline | 499 km | 169 km |
Constitution | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 | Draft constitution approved by transitional parliament in September 2000 |
Country name | conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
conventional long form:
Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo |
Currency | Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 2.44 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.18 billion (2003 est.) | $5 billion (1999 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador David H. KAEUPER embassy: NA mailing address: NA telephone: [243] (88) 43608 FAX: [243] (88) 41036 note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa) |
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 |
chief of mission:
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Serge MOMBOULI chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860 |
Disputes - international | Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf | most of the Congo river boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Stanley Pool/Pool Malebo area) |
Economic aid - recipient | NA (2001) | $159.1 million (1995) |
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 economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. Moreover, the government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to the government's shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the Republic of the Congo's budget deficit. Even with the IMF's renewed confidence and high world oil prices, Congo is unlikely to realize growth of more than 5% in 2001-02. With the return to fragile peace, the IMF approved a $14 million credit in November 2000 to aid post-conflict reconstruction. |
Electricity - consumption | 29.29 billion kWh (2001) | 406.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 126 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 31.49 billion kWh (2001) | 302 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
0.66% hydro: 99.34% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Berongou 903 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 | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans NA%; note - Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that of 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997 |
Exchange rates | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001), 0.3068 (2000), 0.3044 (1999) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
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 |
chief of state:
President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 August 1992 (next was to be held 27 July 1997 but will be delayed for several years pending the drafting of a new constitution) election results: Pascal LISSOUBA elected president in 1992; percent of vote - Pascal LISSOUBA 61.3%, Bernard KOLELAS 38.7%; note - LISSOUBA was deposed in 1997, replaced by Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO |
Exports | 1.97 million bbl/day (2003) | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | oil and refined products, fertilizers | petroleum 50%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
Exports - partners | Japan 21.3%, South Korea 14.9%, US 11.5%, Singapore 9.8%, Taiwan 9.3% (2003) | US 23%, Benelux 14%, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, China (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
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 | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $41.46 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 59.5% services: 40% (2003) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 48% services: 42% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (2003 est.) | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 N, 45 45 E | 1 00 S, 15 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them |
Heliports | 3 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 4,450 km
paved: 3,587 km unpaved: 863 km (1999 est.) |
total:
12,800 km paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2003) | $870 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing | petroleum products, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
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) | France 23%, US 9%, Belgium 8%, UK 7%, Italy (1997 est.) |
Independence | 19 June 1961 (from UK) | 15 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | -5% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, construction materials | petroleum extraction, cement kilning, lumbering, brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarette making |
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.) |
99.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (2003 est.) | 3.5% (2000 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 60 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Appeal | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 1.38 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force. (2003 est.) |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA, industries NA, services NA | - |
Land boundaries | total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
total:
5,504 km border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.73%
permanent crops: 0.11% other: 99.16% (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 29% forests and woodland: 62% other: 9% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English widely spoken | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) |
Legal system | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and customary law |
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 |
unicameral National Transitional Council (75 seats, members elected by reconciliation forum of 1,420 delegates on NA January 1998); note - the National Transitional Council replaced the bicameral Parliament
elections: National Transitional Council - last held NA January 1998 (next to be held NA 2001); note - at that election the National Transitional Council is to be replaced by a bicameral assembly election results: National Transitional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.84 years
male: 75.86 years female: 77.86 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
47.57 years male: 44.38 years female: 50.85 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 74.9% male: 83.1% female: 67.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | territorial sea:
200 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.) |
- |
Military branches | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force (including Air Defense Force), National Guard | Army, Air Force, Navy, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2,500.4 million (2003) | $110 million (FY93) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.8% (2003) | 3.8% (FY93) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 880,461 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
684,922 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 531,556 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
347,946 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 18,849 (2004 est.) | males:
32,350 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 25 February (1950) | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
noun:
Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo |
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 | seasonal flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 14.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2004) | crude oil 25 km |
Political parties and leaders | none; formation of political parties is illegal | the most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP (an alliance of Convention for Alternative Democracy, Congolese Labor Party or PCT, Liberal Republican Party, National Union for Democracy and Progress, Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction, and Union for the National Renewal) [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Association for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO] |
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 | Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC |
Population | 2,257,549
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) |
2,894,336
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.36%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2004 est.) |
2.2% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud | Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 341,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
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.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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 |
18 years of age; universal |
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 |
general assessment:
services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out-of-order domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 486,900 (2003) | 22,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.42 million (2003) | 1,000 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) | 1 (1999) |
Terrain | flat to slightly undulating desert plain | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin |
Total fertility rate | 3.03 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 5 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 1,120 km
note: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for local traffic only |