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Compare Kuwait (2005) - European Union (2004)

Compare Kuwait (2005) z European Union (2004)

 Kuwait (2005)European Union (2004)
 KuwaitEuropean Union
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.)
0-14 years: 16.3%


15-64 years: 67.2%


65 years and over: 16.6% (July 2004 est.)
Agriculture - products practically no crops; fish wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, fish
Airports 7 (2004 est.) total: 3,130


with paved runways: 1,834


with unpaved runways: 1,296 (2003)
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: 3,976,372 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than New Jersey less than one-half 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. Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all of Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.

The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since.

In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined to the EU, raising the membership total to 15.

A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gives member states two years to ratify the document before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006.

Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members.
Birth rate 21.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 10.2 births/1,000 population (July 2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $35.82 billion


expenditures: $19.53 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
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Capital Kuwait Brussels, Belgium
Climate dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south
Coastline 499 km 65,413.9 km
Constitution approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastrict) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gives member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006
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 - euro; pound (Cyprus), koruna (Czech Republic), krone (Denmark), kroon (Estonia), forint (Hungary), lat (Latvia), litas (Lithuania), lira (Malta), zloty (Poland), koruna (Slovakia), tolar (Slovenia), krona (Sweden), pound (UK)
Death rate 2.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 10 deaths/1,000 population (July 2004 est.)
Debt - external $15.02 billion (2004 est.) $NA
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 Rockwell SCHNABEL


embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat (Rue Zinner), B-1000 Brussels


mailing address: same as above


telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222


FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720
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
chief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON


chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037


telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500


FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766
Disputes - international Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf -
Economic aid - donor - $NA
Economic aid - recipient NA (2001) -
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. Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $10,000 to $28,000) and historic national animosities, the European Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, both Germany and France since 2003 have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004, the EU admitted 10 central and eastern European countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the existing 15. The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), an associated organization, introduced the euro as the common currency on 1 January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and Denmark do not now participate; the 10 new countries may choose to join the EMU when they meet its fiscal and monetary criteria and the member states so agree.
Electricity - consumption 30.16 billion kWh (2002) 2.635 trillion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2002) 234.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2002) 245.7 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 32.43 billion kWh (2002) 2.822 trillion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m


highest point: unnamed location 306 m
lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m


highest point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 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 NA
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
Hazardous Wastes, Biodiversity, Air Pollution, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94, Ozone Layer Protection, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Law of the Sea, Desertification, Climate Change; has signed, but not yet ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
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) euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (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 union: President of the European Commission Jose DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)


cabinet: European Commission (composed of 25 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas)


elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments; the president-designate then chooses the other Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 2004 (next to be held 2009)


election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449-149 with 82 abstentions


note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines
Exports 1.97 million bbl/day (2003) 6.429 million bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities oil and refined products, fertilizers machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages.
Exports - partners Japan 20.5%, South Korea 13.7%, US 12.4%, Singapore 11.3%, Taiwan 9.9% (2004) NA
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March NA
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 on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed
GDP - purchasing power parity - $11.05 trillion (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 0.4%


industry: 60.5%


services: 39.1% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 2.3%


industry: 28.3%


services: 69.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $21,300 (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - $25,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.8% (2004 est.) 1% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 N, 45 45 E -
Geography - note strategic location at head of Persian Gulf -
Heliports 3 (2004 est.) 94 (2003)
Highways total: 4,450 km


paved: 3,587 km


unpaved: 863 km (1999 est.)
total: 4,634,810 km (including 56,704 km of expressways)


paved: 4,161,318 km


unpaved: 473,492 km (1999-2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: 2.9%


highest 10%: 25.2% (1995 est.)
Imports NA 16.97 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, 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) NA
Independence 19 June 1961 (from UK) 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force)
Industrial production growth rate -5% (2002 est.) 0.8% (2004 est.)
Industries petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials among the world's largest and most technologically advanced industries, including iron and steel, aluminum, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aircraft, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools, electronics, telecommunications equipment, fishing, food processing, furniture, paper, textiles and clothing, tourism
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: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.3% (2004 est.) 2% (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 European Union: ASEAN (dialogue member), ARF (dialogue member), EBRD, IDA, OAS (observer), OECD, WTO


European Commission: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, G-10, NSG (observer), UN (observer)


European Central Bank: BIS


European Investment Bank: WADB (nonregional member)
Irrigated land 60 sq km (1998 est.) 115,807 sq km
Judicial branch High Court of Appeal European Court of Justice (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 Justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term
Labor force 1.42 million


note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2004 est.)
211.1 million
Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA, industries NA, services NA agriculture 4.3%, industry 29%, services 66.8% (2000)
Land boundaries total: 462 km


border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km
total: 11,214.8 km


border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 246 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Romania 443 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 206 km, Ukraine 726 km


note: data for European Continent only
Land use arable land: 0.73%


permanent crops: 0.11%


other: 99.16% (2001)
arable land: NA


permanent crops: NA
Languages Arabic (official), English widely spoken Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed
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
Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term


elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009)


election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28
Life expectancy at birth total population: 77.03 years


male: 76.01 years


female: 78.1 years (2005 est.)
total population: 78.1 years


male: 74.9 years


female: 81.4 years (July 2004 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 83.5%


male: 85.1%


female: 81.7% (2003 est.)
-
Location Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia Europe between Eastern Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean
Map references Middle East Europe
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm NA
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 - In October 2004, the European Union heads of government signed a "constitutional treaty" that offers possibilities - with some limits - for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, in a process that may take some two years, this treaty will in effect make operational the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a European military planning unit is likely to continue. So is creation of a rapid-reaction military force and a humanitarian aid system, which the planning unit will support. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade and the Multinational Command Support Brigade and will command EUFOR, which will take over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Other troop contributions are under national command - committments to provide 67,100 troops were made at the Helsinki EU session in 2000. Some 56,000 EU troops were actually deployed in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. As of November 2004, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France had proposed creation of three 1,500-man rapid-reaction "battle groups."
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) Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert Schuman proposed the creation of an organized Europe
Nationality noun: Kuwaiti(s)


adjective: Kuwaiti
-
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 flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic
Natural resources petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas iron ore, arable land, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash, fish
Net migration rate 14.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (July 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 Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Hans-Gert POETTERING]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI]
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.)
456,285,839 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line NA NA
Population growth rate 3.44%


note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2005 est.)
0.17% (July 2004 est.)
Ports and harbors Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Bremen (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples (Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia)
Radio broadcast stations AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 866, FM 13,396, shortwave 73 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio)
Railways - total: 222,293 km


broad gauge: 28,438 km


standard gauge: 186,405 km


narrow gauge: 7,427 km


other: 23 km (2003)
Religions Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish
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.)
at birth: NA


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (July 2004 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
note - see individual country entries of member states
Telephones - main lines in use 486,900 (2003) 238,763,162 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.42 million (2003) 314,644,700 (2002)
Television broadcast stations 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) 2,791 (1995); note - does not include repeaters; sum of indiviual country television broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision)
Terrain flat to slightly undulating desert plain fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas
Total fertility rate 2.97 children born/woman (2005 est.) 1.48 children born/woman (July 2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 2.2% (2004 est.) 9.1% (2004 est.)
Waterways - 53,512 km
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