Compare Kuwait (2005) - Liberia (2004)

Compare Kuwait (2005) z Liberia (2004)

	Kuwait (2005)	Liberia (2004)

Administrative divisions	5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli	15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe
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: 43.4% (male 742,508; female 730,677) 15-64 years: 52.9% (male 875,951; female 918,570) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 61,867; female 61,062) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	practically no crops; fish	rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber
Airports	7 (2004 est.)	53 (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.)	total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 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.)	total: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 38 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 111,370 sq km land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	slightly larger than Tennessee
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.	In August 2003, a comprehensive peace agreement ended 14 years of civil war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who was exiled to Nigeria. The National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) - which is composed of rebel, government, and civil society groups - assumed control in October 2003. Chairman Gyude BRYANT, who was given a two-year mandate to oversee efforts to rebuild Liberia, heads the new government. The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which maintains a strong presence throughout the country, completed a disarmament program for former combatants in late 2004, but the security situation is still volatile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country remains sluggish.
Birth rate	21.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	44.81 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $35.82 billion expenditures: $19.53 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	revenues: $85.4 million expenditures: $90.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.)
Capital	Kuwait	Monrovia
Climate	dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters	tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
Coastline	499 km	579 km
Constitution	approved and promulgated 11 November 1962	6 January 1986
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 Liberia conventional short form: Liberia
Currency	-	Liberian dollar (LRD)
Death rate	2.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	17.86 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$15.02 billion (2004 est.)	$2.1 billion (2000 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 John William BLANEY III embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [231] 226-370 through 226-380 FAX: [231] 226-148
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Aaron B. KOLLIE chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436 consulate(s) general: New York
Disputes - international	Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf	domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have created insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, and ethnic conflicts and refugees in border areas; the Cote d'Ivoire Government accuses Liberia of supporting Ivorian rebels
Economic aid - recipient	NA (2001)	$94 million (1999)
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.	Civil war and misgovernment have destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Many businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Some have returned, many will not. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products - primarily raw timber and rubber. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. The departure of the former president, Charles TAYLOR, to Nigeria in August 2003, the establishment of the all-inclusive National Transition Government of Liberia (NTGL), and the arrival of a UN mission are all encouraging signs that the political crisis is coming to an end. The restoration of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy depend on the implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic policies, including the encouragement of foreign investment, and generous support from donor countries.
Electricity - consumption	30.16 billion kWh (2002)	435.9 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	32.43 billion kWh (2002)	468.8 million kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 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	tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage
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-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%	indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves)
Exchange rates	Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001), 0.3068 (2000)	Liberian dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 61.7542 (2002), 48.5833 (2001), 40.9525 (2000), 41.9025 (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	chief of state: Chairman Gyude BRYANT (since 14 October 2003); note - this is an interim position until presidential elections in 2005; the chairman is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: Chairman Gyude BRYANT (since 14 October 2003); note - this is an interim position until presidential elections in 2005; the chairman is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate; note - current cabinet positions are divided among groups participating in the Liberian peace process elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (renewable); election last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA October 2005) election results: Charles Ghankay TAYLOR elected president; percent of vote - Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (NPP) 75.3%, Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF (UP) 9.6%, Alhaji KROMAH (ALCOP) 4%, other 11.1%; note - Taylor stepped down in August 2003 note:: a UN-brokered cease-fire among warring factions and the Liberian government resulted in the August 2003 resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR; a jointly agreed upon replacement, Chairman Gyude BRYANT, assumed office as head of the National Transitional Government on 14 October 2003
Exports	1.97 million bbl/day (2003)	$1.079 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities	oil and refined products, fertilizers	rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee
Exports - partners	Japan 20.5%, South Korea 13.7%, US 12.4%, Singapore 11.3%, Taiwan 9.9% (2004)	Germany 43.3%, Poland 10.9%, Greece 9.1%, US 6%, France 5.5%, Thailand 4.9%, China 4.1% (2003)
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	11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $3.261 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 0.4% industry: 60.5% services: 39.1% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 76.9% industry: 5.4% services: 17.7% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $21,300 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.8% (2004 est.)	3% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 N, 45 45 E	6 30 N, 9 30 W
Geography - note	strategic location at head of Persian Gulf	facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland grassy plateau supports limited agriculture
Heliports	3 (2004 est.)	-
Highways	total: 4,450 km paved: 3,587 km unpaved: 863 km (1999 est.)	total: 10,600 km paved: 657 km unpaved: 9,943 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption, criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center
Imports	NA	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing	fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; foodstuffs
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)	South Korea 39.2%, Japan 16.2%, Singapore 12.4%, Germany 9.9%, Spain 4.1% (2003)
Independence	19 June 1961 (from UK)	26 July 1847
Industrial production growth rate	-5% (2002 est.)	NA
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials	rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds
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: 130.51 deaths/1,000 live births male: 137.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 123.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.3% (2004 est.)	15% (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	ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Irrigated land	60 sq km (1998 est.)	30 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court of Appeal	Supreme Court
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	agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services 22% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 462 km border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km	total: 1,585 km border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km
Land use	arable land: 0.73% permanent crops: 0.11% other: 99.16% (2001)	arable land: 3.95% permanent crops: 2.28% other: 93.77% (2001)
Languages	Arabic (official), English widely spoken	English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence
Legal system	civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector
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	bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (26 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2006); House of Representatives - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA October 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 21, UP 3, ALCOP 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 49, UP 7, ALCOP 3, Alliance of Political Parties 2, UPP 2, LPP 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.03 years male: 76.01 years female: 78.1 years (2005 est.)	total population: 47.93 years male: 46.9 years female: 48.99 years (2004 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: 57.5% male: 73.3% female: 41.6% note: (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Map references	Middle East	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	territorial sea: 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)	total: 1,449 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 50,555,752 GRT/79,125,329 DWT by type: bulk 278, cargo 67, chemical tanker 161, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 20, container 388, liquefied gas 77, multi-functional large load carrier 3, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 317, refrigerated cargo 62, roll on/roll off 14, short-sea/passenger 3, specialized tanker 13, vehicle carrier 33 foreign-owned: Argentina 9, Australia 3, Austria 16, Belgium 8, Bermuda 1, Brazil 5, Chile 7, China 40, Croatia 11, Cyprus 4, Denmark 4, Estonia 1, France 3, Germany 510, Greece 142, Hong Kong 56, Iceland 1, India 3, Indonesia 1, Israel 4, Italy 8, Japan 81, South Korea 7, Latvia 22, Isle of Man 5, Mexico 1, Monaco 59, Netherlands 11, Nigeria 2, Norway 54, Panama 1, Poland 2, Portugal 6, Russia 68, Saudi Arabia 23, Singapore 43, Slovenia 1, Spain 1, Sri Lanka 1, Sweden 9, Switzerland 7, Taiwan 36, Turkey 3, Ukraine 3, United Kingdom 36, United States 95, Uruguay 3 registered in other countries: 35 (2004 est.)
Military branches	Land Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense Force), National Guard (2002)	Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL): Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$2,584.5 million (2004)	$10 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.3% (2004)	1.3% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 752,943 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 406,293 (2004 est.)
National holiday	National Day, 25 February (1950)	Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
Nationality	noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti	noun: Liberian(s) adjective: Liberian
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	dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)
Natural resources	petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas	iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower
Net migration rate	14.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: at least 200,000 Liberian refugees are in surrounding countries; the uncertain security situation has hindered their ability to return (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	Alliance of Political Parties (a coalition of LAP and LUP) [leader NA]; All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [Peter KERBAY]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [C. Gyude BRYANT]; Liberian People's Party or LPP [Koffa NAGBE]; Liberia Unification Party or LUP [leader NA]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN] - governing party; United People's Party or UPP [Wesley JOHNSON]; Unity Party or UP [Charles CLARKE]
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	NA
Population	2,335,648 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2005 est.)	3,390,635 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	80%
Population growth rate	3.44% note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2005 est.)	2.7% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud	Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia, Robertsport
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 0, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2001)
Railways	-	total: 490 km standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge note: none of the railways are in operation (2003)
Religions	Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%	indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20%
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: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (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	general assessment: telephone and telegraph service via microwave radio relay network; main center is Monrovia domestic: NA international: country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	486,900 (2003)	7,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.42 million (2003)	2,000 (2001)
Television broadcast stations	13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)	1 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001)
Terrain	flat to slightly undulating desert plain	mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast
Total fertility rate	2.97 children born/woman (2005 est.)	6.16 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.2% (2004 est.)	85% (2003 est.)

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