Kuwait

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

mean elevation:

108 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Persian Gulf; 300 highest point: 3.6 km W. of Al-Salmi Border Post

• densest settlement is along the Persian Gulf, particularly in Kuwait City and on Bubiyan Island;
• significant population threads extend south and west along highways that radiate from the capital, particularly in the southern half of the country

• 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;
• loss of biodiversity

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

0-14 years:

24.81% (male 376,652 /female 347,019)

15-24 years:

15.04% (male 240,638 /female 197,946)

25-54 years:

52.3% (male 961,205 /female 563,979)

55-64 years:

5.2% (male 85,146 /female 66,373)

65 years and over:

2.66% (male 35,117 /female 42,392) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

29.8 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

27.1 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

2.7 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

37.3 (2015 est.)

• densest settlement is along the Persian Gulf, particularly in Kuwait City and on Bubiyan Island;
• significant population threads extend south and west along highways that radiate from the capital, particularly in the southern half of the country

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.08 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.22 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1.72 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

1.31 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.89 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1.41 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total:

14.6% (2011 est.)

male:

N/A (2011 est.)

female:

N/A (2011 est.)

conventional long form:

State of Kuwait

conventional short form:

Kuwait

local long form:

Dawlat al Kuwayt

local short form:

Al Kuwayt

etymology:

the name derives from the capital city, which is from Arabic "al-Kuwayt" a diminutive of "kut" meaning "fortress," possibly a reference to a small castle built on the current location of Kuwait City by the Beni Khaled tribe in the 17th century

name:

Kuwait City

geographic coordinates:

29 22 N, 47 58 E

time difference:

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

history:

approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 (2016)

amendments:

• proposed by the amir or supported by at least one-third of the National Assembly;
• passage requires two-thirds consent by the Assembly membership and promulgation by the amir;
• constitutional articles on the initiation, approval, and promulgation of general legislation cannot be amended (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Kuwait

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

not specified

• 21 years of age and at least 20-year citizenship;
• universal;
• note - in early 2017, legislation was introduced to lower the voting age to 18 and instate suffrage for the armed forces and police

highest courts:

Constitutional Court (consists of 5 judges); Supreme Court or Court of Cassation (organized into several circuits, each with 5 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

all Kuwaiti judges appointed by the Amir upon recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council, a consultative body comprised of Kuwaiti judges and Ministry of Justice officials

subordinate courts:

• High Court of Appeal;
• Court of First Instance;
• Summary Court

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 NASIR al-Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 12 December 2017);
• Deputy Prime Ministers SABAH al-KHALD al-Sabah (since 4 August 2013), KHALD al-Jarrah al-Sabah (since December 2016), Anas al-SALEH (since 2015)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by the amir

elections/appointments:

amir chosen from within the ruling family, confirmed by the National Assembly; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the amir

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (65 seats; 50 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 15 ex-officio members - cabinet ministers - appointed by the prime minister; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 26 November 2016 (next to be held in 2020)

election results:

• seats won - oppositionists and independents, including populists, Islamists, and liberals 26, pro-government loyalists 24;
• composition for elected members only - men 49, women 1, percent of women 1.5%

chief of mission:

Ambassador SALIM al-Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 10 October 2001)

chancery:

2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 966-0702

FAX:

[1] (202) 966-8468

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles

chief of mission:

Ambassador Lawrence R. SILVERMAN (since 5 October 2016)

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] 2538-6562

• 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;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 4G LTE mobile-cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwai;
• Internet access is available via 4G LTE connections for fixed and mobile users;
• 5G services launched in selected areas in 2018;
• high ownership of smart phone in Kuwait;
• one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world (2018)

domestic:

fixed-line subscriptions 19 per 100 and mobile-cellular stands at 179 per 100 subscriptions (2018)

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) (2018)

• 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 are 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)

number of registered air carriers:

3 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 31 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

3,655,366 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

275,777,666 mt-km (2015)

total:

161 (2017)

by type:

container ship 1, general cargo 18, oil tanker 27, other 115 (2017)

stateless persons:

• 92,000 (2017);
• note - Kuwait's 1959 Nationality Law defined citizens as persons who settled in the country before 1920 and who had maintained normal residence since then;
• one-third of the population, descendants of Bedouin tribes, missed the window of opportunity to register for nationality rights after Kuwait became independent in 1961 and were classified as bidun (meaning "without");
• since the 1980s Kuwait's bidun have progressively lost their rights, including opportunities for employment and education, amid official claims that they are nationals of other countries who have destroyed their identification documents in hopes of gaining Kuwaiti citizenship;
• Kuwaiti authorities have delayed processing citizenship applications and labeled biduns as "illegal residents," denying them access to civil documentation, such as birth and marriage certificates

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 South and Southeast Asia, Egypt, the Middle East, and increasingly Africa 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 debt bondage;
• Kuwait’s sponsorship law restricts workers’ movements and penalizes them for running away from abusive workplaces, making domestic workers particularly vulnerable to forced labor in private homes

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;
• although investigations into visa fraud rings lead to the referral of hundreds of people for prosecution, including complicit officials, the government has not prosecuted or convicted any suspected traffickers;
• authorities made no effort to enforce the prohibition against withholding workers’ passports, as mandated under Kuwaiti law;
• punishment of forced labor cases was limited to shutting down labor recruitment firms, assessing fines, and ordering the return of withheld passports and the paying of back-wages;
• the government made progress in victims’ protection by opening a high-capacity shelter for runaway domestic workers but still lacks formal procedures to identify and refer victims to care services (2015)