Kuwait
State of KuwaitDawlat al Kuwayt
constitutional emirateIndependence 19 June 1961 (from UK)
Kuwait as the 2008 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 134 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. 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.
Geography
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
20 fieldsLand useshare of 17,820 sq km
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
People
21 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2008 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2008 est.)
Male · female
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:
- 1.67 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1.53 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Government
Constitutional emirate; Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Prime Minister NASIR MUHAMMAD al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 3 April 2007)
18 fieldsCountry name
- conventional long form:
- State of Kuwait
- conventional short form:
- Kuwait
- local long form:
- Dawlat al Kuwayt
- local short form:
- Al Kuwayt
Capital
- name:
- Kuwait
- 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
Legal system
civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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
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);
- note - the Amir accepted the resignation of the prime minister and cabinet on 1 December 2008)
- 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 17 May 2008 (next election to be held in 2012)
- election results:
- percent of vote by bloc - NA; seats by bloc - Sunni 21, Islamic Salafi Alliance 10, Liberals 7, Shiites 5, Popular Action Bloc 4, Islamic Constitutional Movement 3
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 members), 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
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
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
Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 104 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves.
50 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2007 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
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.
Industries
petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials
Exchange rates
Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US dollar - 0.2844 (2007), 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003)
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;
- 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)
Transportation
8 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
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
Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2007)
6 fieldsMilitary branches
Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2007)
Military service age and obligation
- 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
- reserve obligation to age 40 with 1 month annual training;
- women have served in police forces since 1999 (2006)
Manpower available for military service
- males age 16-49:
- 1,032,408
- females age 16-49:
- 568,657 (2008 est.)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - 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)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Kuwait.” The World Factbook 2008. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/kuwait/2008.