Compare Kuwait (2008) - Luxembourg (2006)

Compare Kuwait (2008) z Luxembourg (2006)

	Kuwait (2008)	Luxembourg (2006)

Administrative divisions	6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir	3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg
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: 18.9% (male 46,118/female 43,356) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 159,498/female 156,075) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 28,027/female 41,339) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	practically no crops; fish	wine, grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy products, livestock products
Airports	7 (2007)	2 (2006)
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: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)
Area	total: 17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 2,586 sq km land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	slightly smaller than Rhode Island
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.	Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area.
Birth rate	21.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	11.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $66.92 billion expenditures: $36.39 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $9.195 billion expenditures: $9.573 billion; including capital expenditures of $975.5 million (2005 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: Luxembourg geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 6 10 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate	dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters	modified continental with mild winters, cool summers
Coastline	499 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	approved and promulgated 11 November 1962	17 October 1868; occasional revisions
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: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg
Death rate	2.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$33.61 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$NA
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 Ann WAGNER embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: [352] 46 01 23 FAX: [352] 46 14 01
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 Joseph WEYLAND chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171/72 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco
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 - donor	-	ODA, $235.59 million (2004)
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.	This stable, high-income economy - benefitting from its proximity to France, Belgium, and Germany - features solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector, which now accounts for about 28% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and cross-border workers for more than 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per capita ranks first in the world.
Electricity - consumption	36.28 billion kWh (2005)	6.14 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	2.346 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	5.287 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - production	41.11 billion kWh (2005)	3.203 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m	lowest point: Moselle River 133 m highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 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 in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%	Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers)
Exchange rates	Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2844 (2007), 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003)	euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)
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: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Jean ASSELBORN (since 31 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the monarch; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies note: government coalition - CSV and LSAP
Exports	2.2 million bbl/day (2004)	634 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	oil and refined products, fertilizers	machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass
Exports - partners	Japan 20.4%, South Korea 16.2%, Taiwan 10.8%, Singapore 9.7%, US 9%, Netherlands 5.3%, China 4.1% (2006)	Germany 21%, France 16.3%, Belgium 9.2%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.5%, Spain 6.6%, Netherlands 4.3% (2005)
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	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 0.4% industry: 54.7% services: 44.9% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 1% industry: 13% services: 86% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.6% (2007 est.)	4% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 N, 45 45 E	49 45 N, 6 10 E
Geography - note	strategic location at head of Persian Gulf	landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world
Heliports	4 (2007)	1 (2006)
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)	50,700 bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing	minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods
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)	Belgium 28.2%, Germany 21.8%, China 12.8%, France 9.6%, Netherlands 5.1% (2005)
Independence	19 June 1961 (from UK)	1839 (from the Netherlands)
Industrial production growth rate	0.8% (2007 est.)	4.5% (2005 est.)
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials	banking and financial services, iron and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo transportation, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, 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: 4.74 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.9% (2007 est.)	2.5% (2005 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	ACCT, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	130 sq km (2003)	NA
Judicial branch	High Court of Appeal	judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch
Labor force	1.167 million note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2007 est.)	316,500 of whom 121,600 are foreign cross-border workers commuting primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 1% industry: 13% services: 86% (2004 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 462 km border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km	total: 359 km border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km
Land use	arable land: 0.84% permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.99% (2005)	arable land: 23.94% permanent crops: 0.39% other: 75.67% (includes Belgium) (2005)
Languages	Arabic (official), English widely spoken	Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language)
Legal system	civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on civil law system; accepts 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	unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 13 June 2004 (next to be held by June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 36.1%, LSAP 23.4%, DP 16.1%, Green Party 11.6%, ADR 10%; seats by party - CSV 24, LSAP 14, DP 10, Green Party 7, ADR 5 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.36 years male: 76.25 years female: 78.52 years (2007 est.)	total population: 78.89 years male: 75.6 years female: 82.38 years (2006 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: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia	Western Europe, between France and Germany
Map references	Middle East	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	none (landlocked)
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: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 557,636 GRT/792,069 DWT by type: bulk carrier 6, chemical tanker 16, container 7, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 42 (Belgium 9, Finland 4, France 14, Germany 10, Netherlands 2, US 3) (2006)
Military branches	Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2007)	Army
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$231.6 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.3% (2006)	0.9% (2003)
National holiday	National Day, 25 February (1950)	National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June
Nationality	noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti	noun: Luxembourger(s) adjective: Luxembourg
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	NA
Natural resources	petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas	iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land
Net migration rate	16.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2007)	gas 155 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	none; formation of political parties is in practice illegal, but is not forbidden by law	Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Gast GIBERYEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (also known as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Francois BILTGEN]; Democratic Party or DP [Claude MEISCH]; Green Party [Francois BAUSCH]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party dei Lenk/la Gauche (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties
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	ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); Greenpeace (environment protection); LCGP (center-right trade union); Mouvement Ecologique (protection of ecology); OGBL (center-left trade union)
Population	2,505,559 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2007 est.)	474,413 (July 2006 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.)	1.23% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999)
Railways	-	total: 274 km standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (262 km electrified) (2005)
Religions	Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15%	87% Roman Catholic, 13% Protestants, Jews, and Muslims (2000)
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: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 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 and compulsory
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: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: country code - 352; 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America)
Telephones - main lines in use	510,300 (2005)	244,500 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.536 million (2006)	720,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)	5 (1999)
Terrain	flat to slightly undulating desert plain	mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast
Total fertility rate	2.86 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.78 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.2% (2004 est.)	4.5% (2005 est.)
Waterways	-	37 km (on Moselle River) (2003)

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