Compare Kuwait (2008) - Bahamas, The (2005)

Compare Kuwait (2008) z Bahamas, The (2005)

	Kuwait (2008)	Bahamas, The (2005)

Administrative divisions	6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir	21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay
Age structure	0-14 years: 26.7% (male 340,814/female 328,663) 15-64 years: 70.5% (male 1,128,231/female 636,967) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 44,542/female 26,342) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 27.9% (male 42,142/female 42,096) 15-64 years: 65.9% (male 97,865/female 101,047) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 7,616/female 11,024) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	practically no crops; fish	citrus, vegetables; poultry
Airports	7 (2007)	63 (2004 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 (2007)	total: 29 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	slightly smaller than Connecticut
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 AL-SABAH family has ruled since returning to power in 1991, and reestablished an elected legislature that in recent years has become increasingly assertive.	Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
Birth rate	21.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	17.87 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $66.92 billion expenditures: $36.39 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $1 billion expenditures: $1 billion, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY03/04)
Capital	name: Kuwait geographic coordinates: 29 22 N, 47 58 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Nassau
Climate	dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters	tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Coastline	499 km	3,542 km
Constitution	approved and promulgated 11 November 1962	10 July 1973
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: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas
Death rate	2.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$33.61 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$308.5 million (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Alan MISENHEIMER 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	chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ROOD embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM al-Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517	chief of mission: Ambassador Joshua SEARS chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and 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	have not been able to agree on the alignment of a maritime boundary with the US; continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic privation and political instability
Economic aid - recipient	$2.6 million (2004)	$9.8 million (1995)
Economy - overview	Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 104 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. High oil prices in recent years have helped build Kuwait's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. As a result of this positive fiscal situation, the need for economic reforms is less urgent and the government has not earnestly pushed through new initiatives. Despite its vast oil reserves, Kuwait experienced power outages during the summer months in 2006 and 2007 because demand exceeded power generating capacity. Power outages are likely to worsen, given its high population growth rates, unless the government can increase generating capacity. In May 2007 Kuwait changed its currency peg from the US dollar to a basket of currencies in order to curb inflation and to reduce its vulnerability to external shocks.	The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2001-03. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for about 15% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors. In addition to tourism and banking, the government supports the development of a "third pillar," e-commerce.
Electricity - consumption	36.28 billion kWh (2005)	1.596 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	41.11 billion kWh (2005)	1.716 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 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	coral reef decay; solid waste disposal
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%	black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Exchange rates	Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2844 (2007), 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003)	Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah head of government: Prime Minister NASIR MUHAMMAD al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 3 April 2007); 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 Faysal al-HAJJI (since 5 April 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the amir elections: none; the amir is hereditary; the amir appoints the prime minister and deputy prime ministers	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Exports	2.2 million bbl/day (2004)	transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003)
Exports - commodities	oil and refined products, fertilizers	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals; fruit and vegetables
Exports - partners	Japan 20.4%, South Korea 16.2%, Taiwan 10.8%, Singapore 9.7%, US 9%, Netherlands 5.3%, China 4.1% (2006)	US 40.2%, Poland 13.3%, Spain 11.6%, Germany 5.9%, France 4.3% (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	three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 0.4% industry: 54.7% services: 44.9% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $17,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.6% (2007 est.)	3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 N, 45 45 E	24 15 N, 76 00 W
Geography - note	strategic location at head of Persian Gulf	strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited
Heliports	4 (2007)	1 (2004 est.)
Highways	-	total: 2,693 km paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: 27% (2000)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center
Imports	2,611 bbl/day (2004)	NA
Imports - commodities	food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports - partners	US 14.1%, Germany 7.9%, Japan 7.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.8%, China 5.7%, UK 5.4%, Italy 4.6% (2006)	US 22.4%, South Korea 18.9%, Brazil 9.2%, Japan 7.9%, Italy 7.8%, Venezuela 6.6% (2004)
Independence	19 June 1961 (from UK)	10 July 1973 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	0.8% (2007 est.)	NA
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Infant mortality rate	total: 9.47 deaths/1,000 live births male: 10.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births male: 31.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.9% (2007 est.)	1.2% (year ending September 2004)
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, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOM, IOC, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	130 sq km (2003)	NA
Judicial branch	High Court of Appeal	Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts
Labor force	1.167 million note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2007 est.)	156,000 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (1999 est.)
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: 0.8% permanent crops: 0.4% other: 98.8% (2001)
Languages	Arabic (official), English widely spoken	English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Legal system	civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on English common law
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; all cabinet ministers are also ex officio voting members of the National Assembly) elections: last held 29 June 2006 (next election to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by bloc - NA; seats by bloc - Islamic Bloc (Sunni) 17, Popular Bloc 9, National Action Bloc (liberals) 8, independents 16	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.36 years male: 76.25 years female: 78.52 years (2007 est.)	total population: 65.54 years male: 62.11 years female: 69.04 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.3% male: 94.4% female: 91% (2005 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia	Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba
Map references	Middle East	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,195,831 GRT/3,566,308 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 1, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 6, UAE 8) (2007)	total: 1,119 by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 183, cargo 259, chemical tanker 54, combination ore/oil 17, container 74, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, passenger 116, passenger/cargo 40, petroleum tanker 168, refrigerated cargo 130, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 24 foreign-owned: 968 (Angola 4, Australia 4, Belgium 17, Canada 9, China 3, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 13, Denmark 18, Estonia 1, Finland 7, France 28, Germany 15, Greece 194, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 1, Italy 7, Japan 49, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Latvia 1, Malaysia 12, Monaco 15, Netherlands 24, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 2, Norway 229, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 12, Serbia & Montenegro 2, Singapore 11, Slovenia 1, South Korea 1, Spain 6, Sweden 9, Switzerland 4, Thailand 1, Trinidad & Tobago 2, Turkey 7, UAE 12, United Kingdom 55, United States 154, Uruguay 2) registered in other countries: 35 (2005)
Military branches	Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2007)	Royal Bahamaian Defense Force (naval forces) (2004)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.3% (2006)	NA
National holiday	National Day, 25 February (1950)	Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Nationality	noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti	noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian
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	hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Natural resources	petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas	salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Net migration rate	16.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2007)	-
Political parties and leaders	none; formation of political parties is in practice illegal, but is not forbidden by law	Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]
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, secular liberals and pro-government deputies; in mid-2006, a coalition of Islamists, liberals, and Shia campaigned successfully for electoral reform to reduce corruption	NA
Population	2,505,559 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)	301,790 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA
Population growth rate	3.561% note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2007 est.)	0.67% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15%	Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.771 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.691 male(s)/female total population: 1.526 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	NA years of age; universal (adult); note - males in the military or police are not allowed to vote; adult females were allowed to vote as of 16 May 2005; all voters must have been citizens for 20 years	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; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat	general assessment: modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: country code - 1-242; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997)
Telephones - main lines in use	510,300 (2005)	131,700 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.536 million (2006)	121,800 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)	2 (2004)
Terrain	flat to slightly undulating desert plain	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Total fertility rate	2.86 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.2 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.2% (2004 est.)	10.2% (2004 est.)

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