Kuwait
State of KuwaitDawlat al Kuwayt
nominal constitutional monarchyIndependence 19 June 1961 (from UK)
Kuwait as the 2005 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 124 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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.
Geography
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
18 fieldsLand useshare of 17,820 sq km
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
- signed, but not ratified:
- Marine Dumping
People
19 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2005 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2005 est.)
Male · female
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:
- 1.74 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1.52 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Government
Nominal constitutional monarchy; Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 31 December 1977); Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 13 July 2003)
18 fieldsNational Assembly or Majlis al-Umma, 50 seats, elected 6 July 2003one dot, one seat
Country name
- conventional long form:
- State of Kuwait
- conventional short form:
- Kuwait
- local long form:
- Dawlat al Kuwayt
- local short form:
- Al Kuwayt
Administrative divisions
5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli
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); 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
Legislative branch
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
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, 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
Diplomatic representation in the US
- 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
Diplomatic representation from the US
- 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
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
Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 96 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves.
44 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2004 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
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.
Industries
petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials
Exchange rates
Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001), 0.3068 (2000)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone 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;
- 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
Transportation
8 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Merchant marine
- 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
Land Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense Force), National Guard (2002)
7 fieldsMilitary service age and obligation
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2001)
Transnational Issues
1 fieldDisputes - international
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Kuwait.” The World Factbook 2005. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/kuwait/2005.