Kuwait (2006) | West Bank (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir | - |
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: 43.8% (male 518,470; female 493,531)
15-64 years: 52.8% (male 623,785; female 595,376) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 34,226; female 45,816) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | practically no crops; fish | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 7 (2006) | 3 (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 (2006) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
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Area | total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Delaware |
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. | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank that began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS in January 2005 could bring a turning point in the conflict. |
Birth rate | 21.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 33.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $47.21 billion
expenditures: $20.77 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $676.6 million
expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 est.) |
Capital | name: Kuwait
geographic coordinates: 29 20 N, 47 59 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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Climate | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters |
Coastline | 499 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 | - |
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: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
Currency | - | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | 2.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 4.07 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $16.12 billion (2005 est.) | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) |
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 |
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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 |
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Disputes - international | Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA (2001) | $2 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (2001-02 est.) |
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. | Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment, which in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next three years decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Including Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel, in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. In addition, about 80,000 Palestinian workers inside the Territories are losing their jobs. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip prevented the complete collapse of the economy. In 2004, on-going border issues and the death of Yasser ARAFAT continued to complicate the economic situation. |
Electricity - consumption | 35.52 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | 38.19 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 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 | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% |
Exchange rates | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) |
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 |
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Exports | 1.97 million bbl/day (2003) | $603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip |
Exports - commodities | oil and refined products, fertilizers | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
Exports - partners | Japan 19.6%, South Korea 15.3%, US 11.8%, Taiwan 11%, Singapore 9.5%, Netherlands 4.7% (2005) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) |
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 | - |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 47.9% services: 51.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.3% (2005 est.) | -22% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 N, 45 45 E | 32 00 N, 35 15 E |
Geography - note | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 244 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts(August 2003 est.) |
Heliports | 5 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | total: 4,500 km
paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip |
Imports - commodities | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | US 14%, Germany 10.7%, Japan 8.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.2%, UK 5.6%, France 4.8%, China 4.5% (2005) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) |
Independence | 19 June 1961 (from UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 13.1% (2005 est.) | NA |
Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers |
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: 20.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.1% (2005 est.) | 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 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 | - |
Irrigated land | 130 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | High Court of Appeal | - |
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% |
agriculture 13%, industry 21%, services 66% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.99% (2005) |
arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English widely spoken | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
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 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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.2 years
male: 76.13 years female: 78.31 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 72.88 years
male: 71.14 years female: 74.72 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: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia | Middle East, west of Jordan |
Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | none (landlocked) |
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) |
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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.) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (2005 est.) | NA |
National holiday | National Day, 25 February (1950) | - |
Nationality | noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
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 | droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas | arable land |
Net migration rate | 15.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 2.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | none; formation of political parties is illegal | - |
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 | - |
Population | 2,418,393
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2006 est.) |
2,311,204
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 60% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.52%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2006 est.) |
3.21% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
Religions | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% |
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.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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: NA
domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
Telephones - main lines in use | 510,300 (2005) | 301,600 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.38 million (2005) | 480,000 (cellular subscribers in both West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) | NA |
Terrain | flat to slightly undulating desert plain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.91 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 4.52 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.2% (2004 est.) | 50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.) |