Compare Kuwait (2008) - Bahrain (2008)

Compare Kuwait (2008) z Bahrain (2008)

	Kuwait (2008)	Bahrain (2008)

Administrative divisions	6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir	5 governorates; Asamah, Janubiyah, Muharraq, Shamaliyah, Wasat note: each governorate administered by an appointed governor
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: 26.9% (male 96,217/female 94,275) 15-64 years: 69.5% (male 284,662/female 207,555) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 13,451/female 12,413) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	practically no crops; fish	fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish
Airports	7 (2007)	3 (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 (2007)	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 2 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 (2007)	-
Area	total: 17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 665 sq km land: 665 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	3.5 times 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. 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.	In 1783, the al-Khalifa family captured Bahrain from the Persians. In order to secure these holdings, it entered into a series of treaties with the UK during the 19th century that made Bahrain a British protectorate. The archipelago attained its independence in 1971. Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Facing declining oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has transformed itself into an international banking center. King HAMAD bin Isa al-Khalifa, after coming to power in 1999, pushed economic and political reforms to improve relations with the Shi'a community and Shi'a political societies participated in 2006 parliamentary and municipal elections. Al Wifaq, the largest Shi'a political society, won the largest number of seats in the elected chamber of the legislature. However, Shi'a discontent has resurfaced in recent years with street demonstrations and occasional low-level violence.
Birth rate	21.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	17.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $66.92 billion expenditures: $36.39 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $6.048 billion expenditures: $5.082 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Kuwait geographic coordinates: 29 22 N, 47 58 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Manama geographic coordinates: 26 14 N, 50 34 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters	arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Coastline	499 km	161 km
Constitution	approved and promulgated 11 November 1962	adopted 14 February 2002
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: Kingdom of Bahrain conventional short form: Bahrain local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn local short form: Al Bahrayn former: Dilmun
Death rate	2.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$33.61 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$7.692 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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 J. Adam ERELI embassy: Building #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 331, Zinj District, Manama mailing address: PSC 451, Box 660, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama telephone: [973] 1724-2700 FAX: [973] 1727-0547
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 Nasir bin Muhammad al-BALUSHI chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-1111 FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192 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	none
Economic aid - recipient	$2.6 million (2004)	$103.9 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from the UAE and Kuwait (2004)
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.	With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. Petroleum production and refining account for over 60% of Bahrain's export receipts, over 70% of government revenues, and 11% of GDP (exclusive of allied industries), underpinning Bahrain's strong economic growth in recent years. Aluminum is Bahrain's second major export after oil. Other major segments of Bahrain's economy are the financial and construction sectors. Bahrain is focused on Islamic banking and is competing on an international scale with Malaysia as a worldwide banking center. Bahrain is actively pursuing the diversification and privatization of its economy to reduce the country's dependence on oil. As part of this effort, in August 2006 Bahrain and the US implemented a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the first FTA between the US and a Gulf state. Continued strong growth hinges on Bahrain's ability to acquire new natural gas supplies as feedstock to support its expanding petrochemical and aluminum industries. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are long-term economic problems.
Electricity - consumption	36.28 billion kWh (2005)	7.614 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	41.11 billion kWh (2005)	8.187 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 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	desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources, groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%	Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census)
Exchange rates	Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2844 (2007), 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003)	Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2007), 0.376 (2006), 0.376 (2005), 0.376 (2004), 0.376 (2003)
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: King HAMAD bin Isa al-Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969) head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman al-Khalifa (since 1971); Deputy Prime Ministers ALI bin Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, MUHAMMAD bin Mubarak al-Khalifa, Jawad al-ARAIDH cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch
Exports	2.2 million bbl/day (2004)	235,500 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	oil and refined products, fertilizers	petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles
Exports - partners	Japan 20.4%, South Korea 16.2%, Taiwan 10.8%, Singapore 9.7%, US 9%, Netherlands 5.3%, China 4.1% (2006)	Saudi Arabia 3.2%, US 3%, Japan 2.3% (2006)
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	red, the traditional color for flags of Persian Gulf states, with a white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five points represent the five pillars of Islam
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 0.4% industry: 54.7% services: 44.9% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 0.3% industry: 43.6% services: 56% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.6% (2007 est.)	6.6% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 N, 45 45 E	26 00 N, 50 33 E
Geography - note	strategic location at head of Persian Gulf	close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean
Heliports	4 (2007)	1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	2,611 bbl/day (2004)	216,300 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing	crude oil, machinery, chemicals
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)	Saudi Arabia 37.2%, Japan 6.8%, US 6.2%, UK 6.1%, Germany 6%, UAE 4.2% (2006)
Independence	19 June 1961 (from UK)	15 August 1971 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	0.8% (2007 est.)	5.5% (2007 est.)
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials	petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, iron pelletization, fertilizers, Islamic and offshore banking, insurance, ship repairing, tourism
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: 16.18 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.9% (2007 est.)	3.5% (2007 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, 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	ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	130 sq km (2003)	40 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	High Court of Appeal	High Civil Appeals Court
Labor force	1.167 million note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2007 est.)	363,000 note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 1% industry: 79% services: 20% (1997 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: 2.82% permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2005)
Languages	Arabic (official), English widely spoken	Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu
Legal system	civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on Islamic law and English common law; 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; 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 legislature consists of the Consultative Council (40 members appointed by the King) and the Council of Representatives or Chamber of Deputies (40 seats; members directly elected to serve four-year terms) elections: Council of Representatives - last held November-December 2006 (next election to be held in 2010) election results: Council of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - al Wifaq (Shia) 17, al Asala (Sunni Salafi) 5, al Minbar (Sunni Muslim Brotherhood) 7, independents 11; note - seats by party as of February 2007 - al Wifaq 17, al Asala 8, al Minbar 7, al Mustaqbal (Moderate Sunni pro-government) 4, unassociated independents (all Sunni) 3, independent affiliated with al Wifaq (Sunni oppositionist) 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.36 years male: 76.25 years female: 78.52 years (2007 est.)	total population: 74.68 years male: 72.18 years female: 77.25 years (2007 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: 86.5% male: 88.6% female: 83.6% (2001 census)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia	Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
Map references	Middle East	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
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: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 220,264 GRT/314,289 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 1, container 2, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Kuwait 3) (2007)
Military branches	Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2007)	Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Naval Force, Air Force, National Guard
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.3% (2006)	4.5% (2006)
National holiday	National Day, 25 February (1950)	National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 was the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 was the date of independence from British protection
Nationality	noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti	noun: Bahraini(s) adjective: Bahraini
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	periodic droughts; dust storms
Natural resources	petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas	oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls
Net migration rate	16.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2007)	gas 20 km; oil 52 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	none; formation of political parties is in practice illegal, but is not forbidden by law	political parties prohibited but political societies were legalized per a July 2005 law
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	Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97 and have recently engaged in protests with occasional low-level violence; protests related to a host of issues, including the 2002 constitution, elections, unemployment, and release of detainees; Sunni Islamist legislators support a greater role for Shari'a in daily life; several small leftist and other groups are active
Population	2,505,559 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)	708,573 note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2007 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.)	1.392% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions	Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15%	Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001 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: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.021 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.372 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.084 male(s)/female total population: 1.255 male(s)/female (2007 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	20 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 system domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile-cellular telephones international: country code - 973; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and US; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 1 (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	510,300 (2005)	193,300 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.536 million (2006)	898,900 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)	4 (1997)
Terrain	flat to slightly undulating desert plain	mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
Total fertility rate	2.86 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.57 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.2% (2004 est.)	15% (2005 est.)

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