Airports [time series]

7 total, 4 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

9 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

3,900 km total; 3,000 km bituminous; 900 km earth, sand, light gravel

Merchant marine [time series]

29 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 1,196,435 GRT/1,957,216 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 4 livestock carrier, 18 oil tanker, 4 liquefied gas; note - all Kuwaiti ships greater than 1,000 GRT were outside Kuwaiti waters at the time of the Iraqi invasion; many of these ships transferred to the Liberian flag or to the flags of other Persian Gulf states; only 1 has returned to Kuwaiti flag since the liberation of Kuwait

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 165 km

Ports [time series]

Ash Shu`aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Mina' al 'Ahmadi

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

6,456 km total track length (1990); over 700 km double track; government owned

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

civil network suffered extensive damage as a result of Desert Storm; reconstruction is under way with some restored international and domestic capabilities; broadcast stations - 3 AM, 0 FM, 3 TV; satellite earth stations - destroyed during Persian Gulf war; temporary mobile satellite ground stations provide international telecommunications; coaxial cable and radio relay to Saudi Arabia; service to Iraq is nonoperational

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $9.17 billion, 20.4% of GDP (1992 budget)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 389,770; 234,609 fit for military service; 12,773 reach military age (18) annually

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

virtually none; dependent on imports for food; about 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported

Budget [time series]

revenues $7.1 billion; expenditures $10.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (FY88)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Kuwaiti dinar (plural - dinars); 1 Kuwaiti dinar (KD) = 1,000 fils

Economic aid [time series]

donor - pledged $18.3 billion in bilateral aid to less developed countries (1979-89)

Electricity [time series]

3,100,000 kW available out of 8,290,000 kW capacity due to Persian Gulf war; 7,300 million kWh produced, 3,311 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US$1 - 0.2950 (March 1992), 0.2843 (1991), 0.2915 (1990), 0.2937 (1989), 0.2790 (1988), 0.2786 (1987)

Exports [time series]

$11.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989) commodities: oil 90% partners: Japan 19%, Netherlands 9%, US 8%, Pakistan 6%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$7.2 billion (December 1989 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 July - 30 June

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $8.75 billion, per capita $6,200; real growth rate -50% (1991 est.)

Imports [time series]

$6.6 billion (f.o.b., 1989) commodities: food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing partners: US 15%, Japan 12%, FRG 8%, UK 7%

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 3% (1988); accounts for 52% of GDP

Industries [time series]

petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, building materials, salt, construction

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

NA

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Up to the invasion by Iraq in August 1990, the oil sector had dominated the economy. Kuwait has the third-largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Earnings from hydrocarbons have generated over 90% of both export and government revenues and contributed about 40% to GDP. Most of the nonoil sector has traditionally been dependent upon oil-derived government revenues. Iraq's destruction of Kuwait's oil industry during the Gulf war has devastated the economy. Iraq destroyed or damaged more than 80% of Kuwait's 950 operating oil wells, as well as sabotaged key surface facilities. Firefighters brought all of the roughly 750 oil well fires and blowouts under control by November 1991. By yearend, production had been brought back to 400,000 barrels per day; it could take two to three years to restore Kuwait's oil production to its prewar level of about 2.0 million barrels per day. Meanwhile, population had been greatly reduced because of the war, from 2.1 million to 1.4 million.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA

Climate [time series]

dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters

Coastline [time series]

499 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than New Jersey

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

in April 1991 official Iraqi acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 687, which demands that Iraq accept the inviolability of the boundary set forth in its 1963 agreement with Kuwait, ending earlier claims to Bubiyan and Warbah Islands or to all of Kuwait; a UN Boundary Demarcation Commission is demarcating the Iraq-Kuwait boundary persuant to Resolution 687, and, on 17 June 1992, the UN Security Council reaffirmed the finality of the Boundary Demarcation Commission's decisions; ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim Islands disputed by Saudi Arabia

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide most of water; air and water pollution; desertification

Area (Land area) [time series]

17,820 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

462 km; Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km

Land use [time series]

arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 8%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 92%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Maritime claims [time series]

Continental shelf: not specific Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas

Note [time series]

strategic location at head of Persian Gulf

Terrain [time series]

flat to slightly undulating desert plain

Area (Total area) [time series]

17,820 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

5 governorates (mu'hafaz'at, singular - muh'afaz'ah); Al Ah'madi, Al Jahrah, Al Kuwayt, 'Hawalli; Farwaniyah

Capital [time series]

Kuwait

Constitution [time series]

16 November 1962 (some provisions suspended since 29 August 1962)

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Shaykh Sa`ud Nasir al-SABAH; Chancery at 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-0702 US: Ambassador Edward (Skip) GNEHM, Jr.; Embassy at Bneid al-Gar (opposite the Kuwait International Hotel), Kuwait City (mailing address is P.O. Box 77 SAFAT, 13001 SAFAT, Kuwait; APO AE 09880); telephone [965] 242-4151 through 4159; FAX [956] 244-2855

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

National Assembly: dissolved 3 July 1986; new elections are scheduled for October 1992

Executive branch [time series]

amir, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side

Independence [time series]

19 June 1961 (from UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

High Court of Appeal

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: Amir Shaykh JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 31 December 1977) Head of Government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince SA`UD al-`Abdallah al-Salim al-Sabah (since 8 February 1978); Deputy Prime Minister SALIM al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah

Legal system [time series]

civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

National Assembly (Majlis al `umma) dissolved 3 July 1986; elections for new Assembly scheduled for October 1992

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

State of Kuwait

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

National Day, 25 February

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

40,000 Palestinian community; small, clandestine leftist and Shi`a fundamentalist groups are active; several groups critical of government policies are active

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

none

Suffrage [time series]

adult males who resided in Kuwait before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21; note - out of all citizens, only 10% are eligible to vote and only 5% actually vote

Government type (Type) [time series]

nominal constitutional monarchy

Birth rate [time series]

32 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

2 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Kuwaiti 50%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 2%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

14 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

566,000 (1986); services 45.0%, construction 20.0%, trade 12.0%, manufacturing 8.6%, finance and real estate 2.6%, agriculture 1.9%, power and water 1.7%, mining and quarrying 1.4%; 70% of labor force was non-Kuwaiti

Languages [time series]

Arabic (official); English widely spoken

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

72 years male, 76 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

74% (male 78%, female 69%) age 15 and over can read and write (1985)

Nationality [time series]

noun - Kuwaiti(s); adjective - Kuwaiti

Net migration rate [time series]

NA migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

labor unions exist in oil industry and among government personnel

Population [time series]

1,378,613 (July 1992), growth rate NA (1992)

Religions [time series]

Muslim 85% (Shi`a 30%, Sunni 45%, other 10%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%

Total fertility rate [time series]

4.4 children born/woman (1992)