Country List | World Factbook Home
The World Factbook 2002
| Kuwait |

Introduction | Kuwait

Background: | 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 completely liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait has spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91.

Geography | Kuwait

Location: | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: | 29 30 N, 45 45 E
Map references: | Middle East
Area: | total: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 17,820 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries: | total: 462 km border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km
Coastline: | 499 km
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
Terrain: | flat to slightly undulating desert plain
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m
Natural resources: | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas
Land use: | arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | 60 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April; they 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
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
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping
Geography - note: | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf

People | Kuwait

Population: | 2,111,561 note: includes 1,159,913 non-nationals (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 28.3% (male 304,200; female 292,900) 15-64 years: 69.2% (male 934,115; female 527,331) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 34,106; female 18,909) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: | 3.33% note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2002 est.)
Birth rate: | 21.84 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: | 2.46 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: | 13.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: | 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: 1.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | 10.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 76.46 years male: 75.56 years female: 77.39 years (2002 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 3.14 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.12% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | NA
Nationality: | noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti
Ethnic groups: | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%
Religions: | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%
Languages: | Arabic (official), English widely spoken
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.6% male: 82.2% female: 74.9% (1995 est.)

Government | Kuwait

Country name: | conventional long form: State of Kuwait conventional short form: Kuwait local short form: Al Kuwayt local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt
Government type: | nominal constitutional monarchy
Capital: | Kuwait
Administrative divisions: | 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli
Independence: | 19 June 1961 (from UK)
National holiday: | National Day, 25 February (1950)
Constitution: | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962
Legal system: | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: | 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

Executive branch:

chief of state: Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977)
head of government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah (since 8 February 1978); First Deputy Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 17 October 1992); Deputy Prime Ministers JABIR MUBARAK al-Hamud Al Sabah (since NA) and MUHAMMAD KHALID al-Hamed Al Sabah (since NA)
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

Legislative branch: | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 3 July 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 50; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly
Judicial branch: | High Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: | none; formation of political parties is illegal
Political pressure groups and leaders: | several political groups act as de facto parties: Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a activists, and secular leftists and nationalists
International organization participation: | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al Jaber AL SABAH FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard H. JONES embassy: Bayan, near the Bayan palace, Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait Unit 69000, APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 539-5307, ext. 2240 FAX: [965] 538-0282
Flag description: | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side

Economy | Kuwait

Economy - overview:

Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of 94 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 90% of export revenues, and 75% 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. Higher oil prices put the FY99/00 budget into a $2 billion surplus. The FY00/01 budget covers only nine months because of a change in the fiscal year. The budget for FY01/02 envisioned higher expenditures for salaries, construction, and other general categories. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $30.9 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 4% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $15,100 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | industry: 60% services: 39.7% agriculture: 0.3% (2000)
Population below poverty line: | NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 2.7% (2001)
Labor force: | 1.3 million (1998 est.) note: 68% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: | 1.8% (official 1996 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $11.5 billion expenditures: $17.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02)
Industries: | petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, construction materials
Industrial production growth rate: | 1% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production: | 31.2 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 29.016 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: | practically no crops; fish
Exports: | $16.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: | oil and refined products, fertilizers
Exports - partners: | Japan 23%, US 14%, South Korea 13%, Singapore 7%, Netherlands 6%, Pakistan 6%, Indonesia 4%, UK 2% (2000)
Imports: | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing
Imports - partners: | US 12%, Japan 8%, UK 8%, Germany 7%, China 5%, France 4%, Australia 3%, Netherlands 2% (2000)
Debt - external: | $6.9 billion (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | NA
Currency: | Kuwaiti dinar (KD)
Currency code: | KWD
Exchange rates: | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.3075 (January 2002), 0.3066, (2001), 0.3067 (2000), 0.3044 (1999), 0.3047 (1998), 0.3033 (1997)
Fiscal year: | 1 April - 31 March

Communications | Kuwait

Telephones - main lines in use: | 412,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 210,000 (1997)

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, open wire, and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones
international: 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

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: | 1.175 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)
Televisions: | 875,000 (1997)
Internet country code: | .kw
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 3 (2000)
Internet users: | 165,000 (2001)

Transportation | Kuwait

Railways: | 0 km
Highways: | total: 4,450 km paved: 3,590 km unpaved: 860 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: | none
Pipelines: | crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 165 km
Ports and harbors: | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud
Merchant marine: | total: 38 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,274,515 GRT/3,627,835 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 6, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 19 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Monaco 1, Saudi Arabia 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: | 7 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
Heliports: | 3 (2001)

Military | Kuwait

Military branches: | Army, Navy, Air Force (including Air Defense Force), National Police Force, National Guard, Coast Guard
Military manpower - military age: | 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 812,059 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 486,906 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 18,309 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $1,967,300,000 (FY01) note: Kuwait is changing its fiscal year; the above figure is for July-March 2001; future budget years will be April-March annually
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 5.5% (FY01)

Transnational Issues | Kuwait

Disputes - international: | in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands, although the Iraqi Government continues periodic rhetorical challenges

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002