Turkey (2003) | Kuwait (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak | 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.2% (male 9,422,242; female 9,082,840)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 22,978,251; female 22,243,477) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 2,013,926; female 2,368,733) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.2% (male 323,382/female 311,700)
15-64 years: 70.1% (male 1,045,589/female 591,243) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 40,439/female 23,295) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock | practically no crops; fish |
Airports | 120 (2002) | 7 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 86
over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 34
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 24 (2002) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Texas | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Present-day Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter, the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN, and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. Turkey intervened militarily on Cyprus in 1974 to protect Turkish Cypriots and prevent a Greek takeover of the island; the northern 37 percent of the island remains under Turkish Cypriot control. Relations between the two countries remain strained, but have begun to improve over the past few years. In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-Leninist, separatist group, initiated an insurgency in southeast Turkey, often using terrorist tactics to try to attain its goal of an independent Kurdistan. The group - whose leader, Abdullah OCALAN, was captured in Kenya in February 1999 - has observed a unilateral cease-fire since September 1999, although there have been occasional clashes between Turkish military units and some of the 4,000-5,000 armed PKK militants, most of whom currently are encamped in northern Iraq. The PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) in April 2002. | 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. |
Birth rate | 17.59 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 21.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $42.4 billion
expenditures: $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
revenues: $35.82 billion
expenditures: $19.53 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Ankara | Kuwait |
Climate | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters |
Coastline | 7,200 km | 499 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1982 | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
Currency | Turkish lira (TRL) | - |
Death rate | 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $118.3 billion (Yearend 2001) | $15.02 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Eric S. EDELMAN
embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Kavaklidere, 06100 Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 455-5555 FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul consulate(s): Adana; note - there is a Consular Agent in Izmir |
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard LEBARON
embassy: Bayan, 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] 539-5307, 5308 FAX: [965] 538-0282 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Osman Faruk LOGOGLU
chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York |
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) 364-2868 |
Disputes - international | complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question remains with Greece; Syria and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates waters; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province; border with Armenia remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh | Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $300 million (2000) | NA (2001) |
Economy - overview | Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2001 still accounted for 40% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The most important industry - and largest exporter - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. In recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in many years, but this strong expansion has been interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994, 1999, and 2001. Meanwhile, the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which account for more than 50% of central government spending. Inflation, in recent years in the high double-digit range, fell to 26% in 2003. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually. In late 2000 and early 2001 a growing trade deficit and serious weaknesses in the banking sector plunged the economy into crisis - forcing Turkey to float the lira and pushing the country into recession. Results in 2002-03 were much better, because of strong financial support from the IMF and tighter fiscal policy. Continued slow global growth and serious political tensions in the Middle East could result in negative growth in 2004. | Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with proved 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 112.6 billion kWh (2001) | 30.16 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 433 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 4.579 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 116.6 billion kWh (2001) | 32.43 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 79.3%
hydro: 20.4% nuclear: 0% other: 0.3% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification |
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 |
Ethnic groups | Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% (estimated) | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% |
Exchange rates | NA (2002), 1,225,590 (2001), 625,218 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997) | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001), 0.3068 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (14 March 2003); note - Abdullah GUL resigned 11 March 2003; Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN was given a mandate to form a new government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister note: a National Security Council serves as an advisory body to the government composed of top military and cabinet officials and presided over by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next to be held NA May 2007); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected president on the third ballot; percent of National Assembly vote - 60% note: president must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot |
chief of state: Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 31 December 1977); Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdullah al-Salim al-Sabah
head of government: Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 13 July 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior NAWWAF al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers JABIR MUBARAK al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 2001) and Muhammad Dayfallah al-SHARAR (since 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch |
Exports | 46,110 bbl/day (2001) | 1.97 million bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment | oil and refined products, fertilizers |
Exports - partners | Germany 16.6%, US 9.2%, UK 8.5%, Italy 6.4%, France 6% (2002) | Japan 20.5%, South Korea 13.7%, US 12.4%, Singapore 11.3%, Taiwan 9.9% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening | 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 - $489.7 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.9%
industry: 30.4% services: 56.7% (2001) |
agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 60.5% services: 39.1% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.8% (2002 est.) | 6.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 35 00 E | 29 30 N, 45 45 E |
Geography - note | strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf |
Heliports | 8 (2002) | 3 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 385,960 km
paved: 131,226 km (including 1,749 km of expressways) unpaved: 254,734 km (1999) |
total: 4,450 km
paved: 3,587 km unpaved: 863 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 32.3% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and - to a far lesser extent the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish, Iranian, and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin are in remote regions of Turkey as well as near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate | - |
Imports | 616,500 bbl/day (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, semi-finished goods, fuels, transport equipment | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing |
Imports - partners | Germany 13.7%, Italy 8.1%, Russia 7.6%, US 6%, France 5.9%, UK 4.8%, Switzerland 4.1% (2002) | US 12.9%, Germany 11.9%, Japan 7.9%, UK 5.5%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, Italy 5%, France 4.5%, China 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) | 19 June 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.5% (2002 est.) | -5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper | petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | total: 44.2 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 47.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 45.2% (2002 est.) | 2.3% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | 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, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 50 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 42,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 60 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals and Council of State (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors) | High Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 23.8 million
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (2001 3rd quarter) |
1.42 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 39.7%, services 37.9%, industry 22.4% (3rd quarter, 2001) | agriculture NA, industries NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total: 2,648 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km |
total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
Land use | arable land: 34.53%
permanent crops: 3.36% other: 62.11% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.73%
permanent crops: 0.11% other: 99.16% (2001) |
Languages | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek | Arabic (official), English widely spoken |
Legal system | derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 November 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); note - a special rerun of the General Election in the province of Siirt on 9 March 2003 resulted in the election of Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN to a seat in parliament, a prerequisite for becoming prime minister on 13 March 2003 election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 34.3%, CHP 19.4%, DYP 9.6%, MHP 8.3%, ANAP 5.1%, DSP 1.1%, and others; seats by party - AKP 363, CHP 178, independents 9; note - parties surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Islamists 21, government supporters 14, liberals 3, and independents 12; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.8 years
male: 69.41 years female: 74.3 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 77.03 years
male: 76.01 years female: 78.1 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.5% male: 94.3% female: 78.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
territorial sea: 6 NM in the Aegean Sea; 12 NM in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 525 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,306,506 GRT/8,424,837 DWT
ships by type: bulk 125, cargo 229, chemical tanker 44, combination bulk 3, combination ore/oil 3, container 34, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 35, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 26, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 2, Greece 1, Italy 1, Thailand 1, UK 11 (2002 est.) |
total: 39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,319,082 GRT/3,768,828 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 20 registered in other countries: 19 (2005) |
Military branches | Land Forces, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense Force), National Guard (2002) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $8.1 billion (2002 est.) | $2,584.5 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.5% (2002 est.) | 5.3% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 19,534,455 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 11,801,267 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 679,882 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 29 October (1923) | National Day, 25 February (1950) |
Nationality | noun: Turk(s)
adjective: Turkish |
noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
Natural hazards | very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van | 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 |
Natural resources | antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 14.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,177 km; oil 3,562 km (2003) | gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Justice and Development Party or AKP [Recep Tayip ERDOGAN]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Ahmet Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; Republican People's Party or CHP [Deniz BAYKAL]; True Path Party (sometimes translated as Correct Way Party) or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Young Party or GP [Cem UZAN] | none; formation of political parties is illegal |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Confederation of Public Sector Unions or KESK [Sami EVREN]; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Suleyman CELEBI]; Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Turkish Confederation of Tradesmen and Craftsmen or TESK [Dervis GUNDAY; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [M. Rifat HISARCIKLIOGLU] | several political groups act as de facto parties: Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a activists, and secular leftists and nationalists |
Population | 68,109,469 (July 2003 est.) | 2,335,648
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.16% (2003 est.) | 3.44%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 107, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | total: 8,607 km
standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (2,131 km electrified) (2002) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews) | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
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: 1.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | adult males who have been naturalized for 30 years or more or have resided in Kuwait since before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21
note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for 30 years were eligible to vote for the first time |
Telephone system | general assessment: undergoing rapid modernization and expansion, especially with cellular telephones
domestic: additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay is facilitating communication between urban centers; remote areas are reached by a domestic satellite system; the number of subscribers to mobile cellular telephone service is growing rapidly international: international service is provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; also by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002) |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19.5 million (1999) | 486,900 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17.1 million (2001) | 1.42 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) |
Terrain | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges | flat to slightly undulating desert plain |
Total fertility rate | 2.03 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.97 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.8% (plus underemployment of 6.1%) (2002 est.) | 2.2% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 1,200 km (approximately) | - |