Compare Kuwait (2008) - Hong Kong (2007)

Compare Kuwait (2008) z Hong Kong (2007)

	Kuwait (2008)	Hong Kong (2007)

Administrative divisions	6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir	none (special administrative region of China)
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: 13% (male 476,089/female 434,326) 15-64 years: 74% (male 2,515,518/female 2,652,660) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 419,479/female 482,340) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	practically no crops; fish	fresh vegetables; poultry, pork; fish
Airports	7 (2007)	2 (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: 2 over 3,047 m: 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 (2007)	-
Area	total: 17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 1,092 sq km land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	six 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.	Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.
Birth rate	21.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	7.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $66.92 billion expenditures: $36.39 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $35.18 billion expenditures: $32.18 billion (2006 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)	-
Climate	dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters	subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
Coastline	499 km	733 km
Constitution	approved and promulgated 11 November 1962	Basic Law, approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress, is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"
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: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region conventional short form: Hong Kong local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu local short form: Xianggang abbreviation: HK
Death rate	2.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$33.61 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$72.79 billion (2006 est.)
Dependency status	-	special administrative region of China
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: Consul General James B. CUNNINGHAM consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong mailing address: PSC 461, Box 1, FPO AP 96521-0006 telephone: [852] 2523-9011 FAX: [852] 2845-1598
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	none (special administrative region of China)
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)	-
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.	Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade. The territory has become more closely linked to mainland China over the past few years. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997, it had extensive trade and investment ties with China. Hong Kong's service industry over the past decade has grown rapidly as its manufacturing industry has moved to the mainland. Hong Kong also has stepped up its efforts to gain approval to offer more mainland financial services in a bid to remain competitive with China's growing financial centers. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Gross imports and exports (including reexports to and from third countries) each exceed GDP in dollar value. Per capita GDP exceeds that of the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% from 1989 to 2006, but Hong Kong suffered two recessions in the past eight years because of the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98 and the global downturn in 2001-02. Although the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 also battered Hong Kong's economy, a solid rise in exports, a boom in tourism from the mainland because of China's easing of travel restrictions, and a return of consumer confidence resulted in the resumption of strong growth from late 2003 through 2006. Moreover, several large initial public offerings of Chinese companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange since late 2005 have helped to boost Hong Kong's status as a financial hub and have contributed to the improved performance of the market in late 2006.
Electricity - consumption	36.28 billion kWh (2005)	37.74 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	4.498 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	11 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	41.11 billion kWh (2005)	36.14 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 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	air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
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: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member)
Ethnic groups	Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%	Chinese 94.9%, Filipino 2.1%, other 3% (2001 census)
Exchange rates	Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2844 (2007), 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003)	Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.7678 (2006), 7.7773 (2005), 7.788 (2004), 7.7868 (2003), 7.7989 (2002)
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: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Chief Executive Donald TSANG (since 24 June 2005) cabinet: Executive Council consists of 14 official members and 15 non-official members elections: chief executive elected for five-year term by 800-member electoral committee; last held on 25 March 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Donald TSANG elected chief executive receiving 84.1% of the vote; Alan LEONG received 15.9%
Exports	2.2 million bbl/day (2004)	26,090 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	oil and refined products, fertilizers	electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material
Exports - partners	Japan 20.4%, South Korea 16.2%, Taiwan 10.8%, Singapore 9.7%, US 9%, Netherlands 5.3%, China 4.1% (2006)	China 47%, US 15.1%, Japan 4.9% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 April - 31 March
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 with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 0.4% industry: 54.7% services: 44.9% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 0.1% industry: 8.6% services: 91.3% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.6% (2007 est.)	6.9% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 N, 45 45 E	22 15 N, 114 10 E
Geography - note	strategic location at head of Persian Gulf	more than 200 islands
Heliports	4 (2007)	5 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	despite strenuous law enforcement efforts, faces difficult challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to regional and world markets; modern banking system provides conduit for money laundering; rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people
Imports	2,611 bbl/day (2004)	344,200 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing	raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported)
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)	China 45.9%, Japan 10.3%, Taiwan 7.5%, Singapore 6.3%, US 4.8%, South Korea 4.6% (2006)
Independence	19 June 1961 (from UK)	none (special administrative region of China)
Industrial production growth rate	0.8% (2007 est.)	4% (2006 est.)
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials	textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks
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: 2.94 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.9% (2007 est.)	2% (2006 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	APEC, AsDB, BIS, ICC, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	130 sq km (2003)	20 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court of Appeal	Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Labor force	1.167 million note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2007 est.)	3.583 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	manufacturing 7.5%, construction 2.9%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 43.9%, financing, insurance, and real estate 19.6%, transport and communications 7.1%, community and social services 18.8% note: above data exclude public sector (2005 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 462 km border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km	total: 30 km regional border: China 30 km
Land use	arable land: 0.84% permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.99% (2005)	arable land: 5.05% permanent crops: 1.01% other: 93.94% (2001)
Languages	Arabic (official), English widely spoken	Chinese (Cantonese) 89.2% (official), other Chinese dialects 6.4%, English 3.2% (official), other 1.2% (2001 census)
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	unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; in 2004 30 seats indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 12 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - pro-democracy 63%, pro-Beijing 37%; seats by party - (pro-Beijing 34) DAB 12, Liberal Party 10, FTU 1, independents 11; (pro-democracy 25) Democratic Party 9, CTU 2, ADPL 1, Frontier Party 1, NWSC 1, independents 11; non-voting LEGCO president 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.36 years male: 76.25 years female: 78.52 years (2007 est.)	total population: 81.68 years male: 78.99 years female: 84.6 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 has ever attended school total population: 93.5% male: 96.9% female: 89.6% (2002)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia	Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Map references	Middle East	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	territorial sea: 3 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: 1,009 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,556,075 GRT/57,423,309 DWT by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 499, cargo 135, chemical tanker 51, combination ore/oil 3, container 173, liquefied gas 24, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 91, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 8 foreign-owned: 617 (Belgium 4, Canada 39, China 309, Denmark 12, France 1, Germany 10, Greece 30, Indonesia 7, Japan 78, South Korea 6, Lebanon 1, Norway 30, Pakistan 1, Philippines 10, Portugal 1, Singapore 11, Syria 1, Taiwan 11, UAE 1, UK 32, US 22) registered in other countries: 275 (Bahamas 3, Belize 5, Bermuda 4, Cambodia 11, China 6, Cyprus 2, Honduras 1, India 1, Liberia 21, Malaysia 14, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 4, Mongolia 1, Norway 5, Panama 137, Philippines 2, Seychelles 1, Singapore 37, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, Tuvalu 10, UK 2, unknown 7) (2007)
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of China
Military branches	Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2007)	no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes elements of Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force; these forces are under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission in Beijing and under administrative control of the adjacent Guangzhou Military Region
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.3% (2006)	NA
National holiday	National Day, 25 February (1950)	National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 1 July 1997 is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day
Nationality	noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti	noun: Chinese/Hong Konger adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong
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	occasional typhoons
Natural resources	petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas	outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar
Net migration rate	16.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	4.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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	Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL [Frederick FUNG Kin-kee]; Citizens Party [Alex CHAN Kai-chung]; Civic Party [KUAN Hsin-chi]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [MA Lik]; Democratic Party [Albert HO]; Frontier Party [Emily LAU Wai-hing]; Liberal Party [James TIEN Pei-chun] note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - ADPL, Democratic Party, Frontier Party; pro-Beijing - DAB, Liberal Party
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	Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU (pro-democracy) [LAU Chin-shek, president; LEE Cheuk-yan, general secretary]; Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Federation of Trade Unions or FTU (pro-China) [CHENG Yiu-tong, executive councilor]; Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China [Szeto WAH, chairman]; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union [CHEUNG Man-kwong, president]; Neighborhood and Workers' Service Center or NWSC (pro-democracy); The Alliance [Bernard CHAN, exco member]
Population	2,505,559 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)	6,980,412 (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.)	0.561% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15%	eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%
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: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.096 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.948 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 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	direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election limited to about 200,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies
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 provide excellent domestic and international services domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network international: country code - 852; multiple international submarine cables provide connections to Asia, US, Australia, the Middle East, and Western Europe; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China
Telephones - main lines in use	510,300 (2005)	3.85 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.536 million (2006)	9.356 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)	55 (2 TV networks, each broadcasting on 2 channels) (2006)
Terrain	flat to slightly undulating desert plain	hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
Total fertility rate	2.86 children born/woman (2007 est.)	0.98 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.2% (2004 est.)	4.9% (2006 est.)

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