Published on March 17, 2010

Country Report

Kuwait

Introduction

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. The country witnessed the historic election in May 2009 of four women to its National Assembly.

Geography

Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 29 30 N, 45 45 E

Area:
total: 17,818 sq km
land: 17,818 sq km
water: 0 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: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0.17%
other: 98.99% (2005)

Irrigated land: 130 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 0.02 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.44 cu km/yr (45%/2%/52%)
per capita: 164 cu m/yr (2000)

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

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: 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

Geography - note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf

People

Population:
2,692,526
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2009 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.4% (male 361,274/female 348,351)
15-64 years: 70.7% (male 1,219,674/female 683,494)
65 years and over: 3% (male 49,807/female 29,926) (2009 est.)

Median age:
total: 26.2 years
male: 28.1 years
female: 22.7 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate:
3.549%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2009 est.)

Birth rate: 21.79 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Death rate: 2.31 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

Net migration rate: 16.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Urbanization:
urban population: 98% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.78 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.66 male(s)/female
total population: 1.54 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 8.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.57 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.71 years
male: 76.51 years
female: 78.96 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.76 children born/woman (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.12% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA (2007 est.)

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%, Shia 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15%

Languages: Arabic (official), English widely spoken

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3%
male: 94.4%
female: 91% (2005 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 13 years
male: 12 years
female: 13 years (2006)

Education expenditures: 3.8% of GDP (2006)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait
local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt
local short form: Al Kuwayt

Government type: constitutional emirate

Capital:
name: Kuwait City
geographic coordinates: 29 22 N, 47 58 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak al Kabir

Independence: 19 June 1961 (from the 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: 21 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

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 AL-MUHAMMAD al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 3 April 2007); First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR AL-MUBAREK al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006); Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD AL-SABAH al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006)
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

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 16 May 2009 (next election to be held in 2013)
election results: percent of vote by bloc - NA; seats by bloc - Sunni Muslim groups 11, liberals 7, Shiite Muslim groups 6, Popular Action Bloc 3, unaffiliated tribal groups 23

Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: none; formation of political parties is in practice illegal but is not forbidden by law

Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: Islamists; merchants; political groups; secular liberals and pro-governmental deputies; Shia activists; tribal groups

International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB (nonregional member), 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, Paris Club (associate), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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) 364-2868
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Deborah K. JONES
embassy: Bayan 36302, Block 13, 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

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

Economy

Economy - overview: Kuwait has a geographically small, but wealthy, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 104 billion barrels - about 9% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 95% of government income. Kuwaiti officials have committed to increasing oil production to 4 million barrels per day by 2020. Kuwait survived the economic crisis on the strength of budget surpluses generated by high oil prices, posting its eleventh consecutive budget surplus in 2009. Kuwait has done little to diversify its economy, in part, because of this positive fiscal situation, and, in part, due to the poor business climate and the acrimonious relationship between the National Assembly and the executive branch, which has stymied most movement on economic reforms. Nonetheless, the government in 2009 passed an economic development plan that pledges to spend up to $140 billion in five years to diversify the economy away from oil, attract more investment, and boost private sector participation in the economy. Increasing government expenditures by so large an amount during the planned time frame may be difficult to accomplish.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$148.7 billion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate): $114.9 billion (2009 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -1.7% (2009 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$55,800 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.3%
industry: 48.3%
services: 51.4% (2009 est.)

Labor force:
2.04 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 60% of the labor force (2009 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Unemployment rate: 2.2% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Investment (gross fixed): 31.4% of GDP (2009 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $70.23 billion
expenditures: $58.43 billion (2009 est.)

Public debt: 8.3% of GDP (2009 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.9% (2009 est.)

Central bank discount rate: 3.75% (31 December 2008)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 7.61% (31 December 2008)

Stock of money: $15.31 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of quasi money: $63.08 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of domestic credit: $88.77 billion (31 December 2008)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $107.2 billion (31 December 2008)

Agriculture - products: practically no crops; fish

Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials

Industrial production growth rate: 1.8% (2009 est.)

Electricity - production: 45.83 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption: 40.21 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Oil - production: 2.274 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

Oil - consumption: 325,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil - exports: 2.349 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - imports: 0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - proved reserves: 101.5 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

Natural gas - production: 12.7 billion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 12.7 billion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
300 million cu m (2009 est.)
note: Kuwait signed a deal to import 2 billion cu m per year in 2010 and beyond

Natural gas - proved reserves: 1.794 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

Current account balance: $27.64 billion (2009 est.)

Exports: $49.77 billion (2009 est.)

Exports - commodities: oil and refined products, fertilizers

Exports - partners: Japan 18.5%, South Korea 14.7%, India 10.9%, Tawian 9.8%, US 9%, Singapore 8%, China 6.1% (2008)

Imports: $20.8 billion (2009 est.)

Imports - commodities: food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing

Imports - partners: US 11.7%, Japan 9.1%, Germany 8%, China 7.5%, Saudi Arabia 6.9%, Italy 4.7%, UK 4.2% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $19.42 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Debt - external: $32.5 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: $1.099 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: $33.11 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US dollar - 0.283 (2009), 0.2679 (2008), 0.2844 (2007), 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005)

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 541,000 (2008)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 2.907 million (2008)

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 - 6 (3 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, 1 Inmarsat - Atlantic Ocean, and 2 Arabsat)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)

Television broadcast stations: 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)

Internet country code: .kw

Internet hosts: 2,305 (2009)

Internet users: 1 million (2008)

Transportation

Airports: 7 (2009)

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 (2009)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2009)

Heliports: 4 (2009)

Pipelines: gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2009)

Roadways:
total: 5,749 km
paved: 4,887 km
unpaved: 862 km (2004)

Merchant marine:
total: 38
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, carrier 3, container 6, liquefied gas 4, petroleum tanker 22
registered in other countries: 34 (Bahrain 5, Comoros 1, Libya 1, Panama 2, Qatar 7, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saudi Arabia 7, UAE 10) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Az Zawr (Mina' Sa'ud), Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi

Military

Military branches: Kuwaiti Land Forces (KLF), Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), Kuwaiti National Guard (KNG) (2008)

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for compulsory and 18-25 years of age for voluntary military service; women age 18-30 may be subject to compulsory military service; conscription suspended in 2001 (2009)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,032,408
females age 16-49: 568,657 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 935,525
females age 16-49: 519,854 (2009 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 18,122
female: 18,865 (2009 est.)

Military expenditures: 5.3% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf

Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Kuwait is a destination country for men and women who migrate legally from South and Southeast Asia for domestic or low-skilled labor, but are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude by employers in Kuwait including conditions of physical and sexual abuse, non-payment of wages, confinement to the home, and withholding of passports to restrict their freedom of movement; Kuwait is reportedly a transit point for South and East Asian workers recruited for low-skilled work in Iraq; some of these workers are deceived as to the true location and nature of this work, and others are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude in Iraq
tier rating: Tier 3 - insufficient efforts in 2007 to prosecute and punish abusive employers and those who traffic women for sexual exploitation; the government failed for the fourth year in a row to live up to promises to provide shelter and protective services for victims of involuntary domestic servitude and other forms of trafficking (2008)