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Kuwait
Country Overview
Head of State: Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah
Crown Prince: Sheikh Saad Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah
Prime Minister: Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah
Independence: June 19, 1961 (from United Kingdom)
Population (7/03E): 2.2 million (includes 1.3 million non-nationals)
Location/Size: Middle East, northwestern corner of the Persian Gulf between Iraq and Saudi Arabia/6,900 square miles, slightly smaller than New Jersey
Major Cities: Kuwait City (capital), Salmiya, Hawalli
Languages: Arabic
Ethnic Groups: Kuwaiti (45%), other Arab (35%), South Asian (9%), Iranian (4%), other (7%)
Religion: Sunni Muslim (45%), Shi'a Muslim (40%), Christian, Hindu, other (15%)
Economic Overview
Currency: Kuwaiti Dinar (KD)
Market Exchange Rate (3/23/04): US$1 = 0.2948 KD
Nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP; using market exchange rates) (2003E): $39.8 billion
Real GDP Growth Rate (2003E): 3.8% (2004F): 3.7%
Inflation Rate (Consumer Price Index) (2003E): 1.3% (2004F): 1.9%
Current Account Balance (2003E): $6.7 billion (2004F): $6.6 billion
Major Trading Partners: United States, Japan, Europe, Singapore
Merchandise Exports (2003E): $16.6 billion
Merchandise Imports (2003E): $8.5 billion
Merchandise Trade Balance (2003E): $8.1 billion
Major Export Products: Petroleum (95% of total export revenues)
Major Import Products: Industrial goods, consumer goods, machinery, transport equipment, food
Society
Population: 2,257,549
Population growth rate: 3.36%
Birth rate: 21.85 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: 2.44 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Education: Free and compulsory to age fourteen for all citizens and many foreigners from preschool through university. Adult literacy rate 73 percent in 1990.
Health: National comprehensive health care system extensive and continuing to expand and improve. Life expectancy in 1990 seventy-two years for males and seventy-six for females.
Ethnic Groups: Most Kuwaitis are Arab. Foreign population shifted from predominantly Arab to predominantly Asian in 1980s. After 1990-91 Iraqi occupation, composition of foreign population changed again, especially with exodus of about 370,000 of the 400,000 Palestinians.
Religion: Most Kuwaitis are Sunni Muslims. About 20 percent of citizens are Shia Muslims. Most foreigners are also Muslims, the majority Sunni
Economy
Gross Domestic Product (GDP ) : purchasing power parity - $41.46 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.6% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 59.5%
services: 40% (2003)
Oil Industry: Provided 41 percent of GDP and 87 percent of government revenues in 1989, 58 percent of government revenues in 1990, and 11 percent of government revenues in 1991, showing effects of Persian Gulf War. Crude oil production in 1992 (after oil well restoration during year) about 41 million barrels, compared with about 387 million barrels in 1985.
Industry: About 14 percent of GDP in 1989. Largest industries petrochemicals and building materials.
Agriculture: Little farming--mostly vegetables and fruits. Most food imported. Some fishing.
Exports: $22.29 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) Exports – commodities include: oil and refined products, fertilizers. Exports – partners include: Japan 22%, South Korea 13.1%, US 12%, Singapore 10.2%, Taiwan 7.5%, Pakistan 4.7% (2003 est.)
Imports: $9.606 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) Imports – commodities include: food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing. Imports – partners include: US 15%, Japan 10.4%, Germany 9.7%, China 6.7%, UK 6.2%, Saudi Arabia 5.6%, Italy 5.1%, France 4.3% (2003 est.)
Currency and Exchange Rate: Kuwaiti Dinars per US dollar - 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001), 0.3068 (2000), 0.3044 (1999)
Transportation And Telecommunications
Transportation: There are more than 3,900 kilometers of roads, of which 3,000 paved. Three major ports: Ash Shuaybah, Ash Shuwaykh, and Mina al Ahmadi. Airlines use Kuwait International Airport.
Telecommunications: Prior to Persian Gulf War, excellent telecommunications system; all telecommunications severely damaged during Iraqi occupation and being restored in 1993.
Government And Politics
Government: 1962 constitution specifies "hereditary amirate" and fixes succession among male "descendants of the late Mubarak Al Sabah." Ruler in 1994 was Jabir al Ahmad al Jabir Al Sabah, who became amir in 1977. Sixty-member (fifty elected, ten appointed) National Assembly created in 1963, suspended from 1976 to 1980 and again in 1986; replaced in 1990 with partially elected National Council. National Assembly reconstituted by October 1992 elections. Opposition and independent candidates-- including some nineteen Islamists--won thirty to thirty-five seats.
Politics: Al Sabah family dominates political events, but several prominent merchant families also powerful. Opposition, independent, and Islamist elements becoming stronger in early 1990s. Political parties illegal.
Foreign Relations: As result of Iraqi invasion of August 2, 1990, and 1991 Persian Gulf War, Kuwait's relations with the West and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, particularly Saudi Arabia, strengthened to prevent future Iraqi incursion. In addition to GCC, Kuwait belonged to more than twenty international organizations, including United Nations, League of Arab States, Nonaligned Movement, Organization of the Islamic Conference, and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
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