Compare Kuwait (2005) - Christmas Island (2006)

Compare Kuwait (2005) z Christmas Island (2006)

	Kuwait (2005)	Christmas Island (2006)

Administrative divisions	5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli	none (territory of Australia)
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.)	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	practically no crops; fish	NA
Airports	7 (2004 est.)	1 (2006)
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: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)	-
Area	total: 17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 135 sq km land: 135 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	about three-quarters the size of Washington, DC
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.	Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement began by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.
Birth rate	21.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	NA
Budget	revenues: $35.82 billion expenditures: $19.53 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Capital	Kuwait	name: The Settlement geographic coordinates: 18 44 N, 64 19 W time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters	tropical with a wet and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds; wet season (December to April)
Coastline	499 km	138.9 km
Constitution	approved and promulgated 11 November 1962	Christmas Island Act of 1958-59 (1 October 1958) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992
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: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island
Death rate	2.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	NA
Debt - external	$15.02 billion (2004 est.)	-
Dependency status	-	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services
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	none (territory of Australia)
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	none (territory of Australia)
Disputes - international	Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf	none
Economic aid - recipient	NA (2001)	$NA
Economy - overview	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.	Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine. In 1991, the mine was reopened. With the support of the government, a $34 million casino opened in 1993. The casino closed in 1998. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial space-launching site on the island, projected to begin operations in the near future.
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: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Murray Hill 361 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	loss of rainforest; impact of phosphate mining
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%	Chinese 70%, European 20%, Malay 10% note: no indigenous population (2001)
Exchange rates	Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001), 0.3068 (2000)	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general head of government: Administrator Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia
Exports	1.97 million bbl/day (2003)	$NA
Exports - commodities	oil and refined products, fertilizers	phosphate
Exports - partners	Japan 20.5%, South Korea 13.7%, US 12.4%, Singapore 11.3%, Taiwan 9.9% (2004)	Australia, NZ (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 July - 30 June
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	territorial flag; divided diagonally from upper hoist to lower fly; the upper triangle is green with a yellow image of the Golden Bosun Bird superimposed, while the lower triangle is blue with the Southern Cross constellation, representing Australia, superimposed; a centered yellow disk displays a green map of the island; the flag of Australia is used for official purposes
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	29 30 N, 45 45 E	10 30 S, 105 40 E
Geography - note	strategic location at head of Persian Gulf	located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean
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	$NA
Imports - commodities	food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing	consumer goods
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)	principally Australia (2004)
Independence	19 June 1961 (from UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Industrial production growth rate	-5% (2002 est.)	-
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)
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.)	total: NA male: NA female: NA
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	none
Irrigated land	60 sq km (1998 est.)	NA
Judicial branch	High Court of Appeal	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force	1.42 million note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2004 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	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0.73% permanent crops: 0.11% other: 99.16% (2001)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mainly tropical rainforest; 63% of the island is a national park) (2005)
Languages	Arabic (official), English widely spoken	English (official), Chinese, Malay
Legal system	civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	under the authority of the governor general of Australia and Australian 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 Christmas Island Shire Council (9 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held in May 2005 (next to be held in May 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.03 years male: 76.01 years female: 78.1 years (2005 est.)	total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.)	NA
Location	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia	Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia
Map references	Middle East	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 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 - note	-	defense is the responsibility of Australia
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)	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti	noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island
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	the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard
Natural resources	petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas	phosphate, beaches
Net migration rate	14.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	NA
Pipelines	gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2004)	-
Political parties and leaders	none; formation of political parties is illegal	none
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	none
Population	2,335,648 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2005 est.)	1,493 (July 2006 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.)	0% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2006)
Religions	Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%	Buddhist 36%, Muslim 25%, Christian 18%, other 21% (1997)
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.)	NA
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	general assessment: service provided by the Australian network domestic: GSM mobile telephone service replaced older analog system in February 2005 international: country code - 61-8; satellite earth stations - one INTELSAT earth station provides telephone and telex service (2005)
Telephones - main lines in use	486,900 (2003)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.42 million (2003)	NA
Television broadcast stations	13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)	0; note - TV broadcasts received via satellite from mainland Australia (2006)
Terrain	flat to slightly undulating desert plain	steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
Total fertility rate	2.97 children born/woman (2005 est.)	NA
Unemployment rate	2.2% (2004 est.)	-

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