Compare Kuwait (2006) - Christmas Island (2007)

Compare Kuwait (2006) z Christmas Island (2007)

	Kuwait (2006)	Christmas Island (2007)

Administrative divisions	6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir	none (territory of Australia)
Age structure	0-14 years: 26.9% (male 331,768/female 319,895) 15-64 years: 70.3% (male 1,085,721/female 613,746) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 42,460/female 24,803) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Agriculture - products	practically no crops; fish	NA
Airports	7 (2006)	1 (2007)
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 (2006)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006)	-
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	21.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	NA
Budget	revenues: $47.21 billion expenditures: $20.77 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA
Capital	name: Kuwait geographic coordinates: 29 20 N, 47 59 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: The Settlement geographic coordinates: 10 25 S, 105 43 E 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 season (December to April) and dry season; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds
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	2.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	NA
Debt - external	$16.12 billion (2005 est.)	-
Dependency status	-	non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Richard LEBARON embassy: Bayan 36302, 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] 259-1001 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) 966-0517	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 self-reported 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, but closed in 1998. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial space-launching site on the island, expected to begin operations in the near future.
Electricity - consumption	35.52 billion kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - production	38.19 billion kWh (2003)	-
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 - 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001)	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Sabah head of government: Prime Minister NASIR al-Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 7 February 2006) First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006) and Ismail al-SHATTI (since 10 July 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the amir elections: none; the amir is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the amir	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 19.6%, South Korea 15.3%, US 11.8%, Taiwan 11%, Singapore 9.5%, Netherlands 4.7% (2005)	Australia, NZ (2006)
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: 47.9% services: 51.6% (2005 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	8.3% (2005 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	5 (2006)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	$NA
Imports - commodities	food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing	consumer goods
Imports - partners	US 14%, Germany 10.7%, Japan 8.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.2%, UK 5.6%, France 4.8%, China 4.5% (2005)	principally Australia (2006)
Independence	19 June 1961 (from UK)	none (territory of Australia)
Industrial production growth rate	13.1% (2005 est.)	-
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials	tourism, phosphate extraction (near depletion)
Infant mortality rate	total: 9.71 deaths/1,000 live births male: 10.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: NA male: NA female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	4.1% (2005 est.)	-
International organization participation	ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, 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	130 sq km (2003)	NA
Judicial branch	High Court of Appeal	Supreme Court; District Court; Magistrate's Court
Labor force	1.67 million note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2005 est.)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	-
Land boundaries	total: 462 km border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0.84% permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.99% (2005)	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 29 June 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA; 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 20 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.2 years male: 76.13 years female: 78.31 years (2006 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: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,424,983 GRT/3,996,755 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 3, petroleum tanker 21 registered in other countries: 28 (Bahrain 3, Comoros 1, Liberia 1, Libya 1, Panama 2, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 5, UAE 8) (2006)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of Australia
Military branches	Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2006)	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$3.01 billion (2005 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	4.2% (2005 est.)	-
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	15.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	NA
Pipelines	gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	none; formation of political parties is illegal	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	a number of political groups act as de facto parties; several legislative blocs operate in the National Assembly: tribal groups, merchants, Shi'a activists, Islamists, and secular liberals	none
Population	2,418,393 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2006 est.)	1,402 (July 2006 est.) (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	-
Population growth rate	3.52% note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2006 est.)	0% (2007 est.)
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: 1.71 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	NA
Suffrage	adult males who are not in the military forces, and adult females (as of 16 May 2005); all voters must have been citizens for 20 years	-
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 - 1 INTELSAT earth station provides telephone and telex service (2005)
Telephones - main lines in use	510,300 (2005)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.38 million (2005)	-
Television broadcast stations	13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)	0 (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	2.91 children born/woman (2006 est.)	NA
Unemployment rate	2.2% (2004 est.)	-

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