Kuwait

• dry desert;
• intensely hot summers;
• short, cool winters

total:

0.44 cu km/yr (45%/2%/52%)

per capita:

164 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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

• limited natural freshwater resources;
• some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water;
• air and water pollution;
• desertification

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

noun:

Kuwaiti(s)

adjective:

Kuwaiti

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.08 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.6 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.96 male(s)/female

total population:

1.43 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

conventional long form:

State of Kuwait

conventional short form:

Kuwait

local long form:

Dawlat al Kuwayt

local short form:

Al Kuwayt

name:

Kuwait City

geographic coordinates:

29 22 N, 47 58 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 21 years of age;
• universal;
• note - males in the military or police are by law not allowed to vote;
• all voters must have been citizens for 20 years

chief of state:

Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (born 25 June 1937)

head of government:

• Prime Minister JABIR AL-MUBARAK al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 30 November 2011);
• First Deputy Prime Minister AHMAD al-Hamud al-Jabir al-Sabah;
• Deputy Prime Ministers AHMAD AL-KHALID al-Hamad al-Sabah, SABAH AL-KHALID al-Hamad al-Sabah, Mustafa al-Jassim al-SHAMALI

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the amir; new cabinet formed in February 2012; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• none;
• the amir is hereditary;
• the amir appoints the prime minister and deputy prime ministers

• unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (66 seats - 50 members elected by popular vote plus 16 cabinet ministers appointed by the prime minister as ex officio voting members; elected members serve four-year terms);
• note - the National Assembly was dissolved on 7 October 2012

elections:

last held on 1 December 2012 (next to be held in 2016)

election results:

percent of vote by bloc - Shia 17, collection of mostly new tribalist and independent candidates 33

other:

• Islamists;
• merchants;
• political groups;
• secular liberals and pro-governmental deputies;
• Shia activists;
• tribal groups

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Matthew H. TUELLER

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] 2259-1001

FAX:

[965] 2538-0282

• three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side;
• colors and design are based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I;
• green represents fertile fields, white stands for purity, red denotes blood on Kuwaiti swords, black signifies the defeat of the enemy

name:

"Al-Nasheed Al-Watani" (National Anthem)

lyrics/music:

Ahmad MUSHARI al-Adwani/Ibrahim Nasir al-SOULA

note: adopted 1978; the anthem is only used on formal occasions

agriculture:

NA%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA%

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

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 mobile-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)

• state-owned TV broadcaster operates 4 networks and a satellite channel;
• several private TV broadcasters have emerged since 2003;
• satellite TV available with pan-Arab TV stations especially popular;
• state-owned Radio Kuwait broadcasts on a number of channels in Arabic and English;
• first private radio station emerged in 2005;
• transmissions of at least 2 international radio broadcasters are available (2007)

total:

5,749 km

country comparison to the world: 150

paved:

4,887 km

unpaved:

862 km (2004)

• 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)

males age 16-49:

1,002,480

females age 16-49:

616,958 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

840,912

females age 16-49:

523,206 (2010 est.)

male:

17,653

female:

16,232 (2010 est.)

current situation:

• Kuwait is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and, to a lesser degree, forced prostitution;
• men and women migrate from India, Egypt, Bangladesh, Syria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal, Iran, Jordan, Ethiopia, and Iraq to work in Kuwait, most of them in the domestic service, construction, and sanitation sectors;
• although most of these migrants enter Kuwait voluntarily, upon arrival some are subjected to conditions of forced labor by their sponsors and labor agents, including nonpayment of wages, long working hours without rest, deprivation of food, threats, physical or sexual abuse, and restrictions on movement, such as the withholding of passports or confinement to the workplace

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - Kuwait does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making sufficient efforts to do so;
• the government did not enact its draft comprehensive anti-trafficking law;
• Kuwait's victim-protection measures remain weak, particularly due to its lack of proactive victim-identification procedures and continued reliance on the sponsorship system, which causes victims of trafficking to be punished for immigration violations rather than protected (2009)