1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
16,058 km2 (excluding neutral zone but including islands); insignificant amount forested; nearly all desert, waste, or urban
Coastline
499 km
Land boundaries
459 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
42% Kuwaitis, 41% other Arabs, 7% South Asians, 4% Iranians, 6% other
Labor force
360,000 (1978 est.); 74% services, 11% industry, 11% construction; 70% of labor force is non-Kuwaiti
Language
Arabic; English commonly used foreign language
Literacy
about 60%
Nationality
noun—Kuwaiti(s); adjective—Kuwaiti
Organized labor
labor unions, first authorized in 1964, formed in oil industry and among government personnel
Population
1,553,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 6.2%
Religion
99% Muslim, 1% Christian, Hindu, Parsi, other
Government
Branches
Council of Ministers
Capital
Kuwait
Elections
National Assembly elected in February 1981 Political parties and leaders: political parties prohibited, some small clandestine groups are active Communists:' insignificant
Government leader
Amir Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al SABAH
Legal system
civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; constitution took effect in 1963; popularly elected 50-man National Assembly (the 15 Cabinet members can also vote) reinstated in March 1981 after being suspended in 1976; judicial review of legislative acts not yet determined; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Member of
Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ISCON, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
25 February
Official name
State of Kuwait
Other political or pressure groups
large (300,000) Palestinian community
Political subdivisions
3 governorates, 25 voting constituencies
Suffrage
native born and naturalized males age 21 or over; law requires 20 years residency after naturalization
Type
nominal constitutional monarchy
Economy
Agriculture
virtually none, dependent on imports for food; approx. 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported
Budget
(1980) $25.5 billion revenues, expenditures $7.9 billion, capital $2.3 billion
Electric power
2,578,000 kW capacity (1980); 9.05 billion kWh produced (1980), 6,382 kWh per capita
Exports
$20.7 billion (f.o.b., 1980), of which petroleum accounted for about 90%; nonpetroleum exports are mostly reexports, $2.1 billion (1980 est.)
Fiscal year
1 July-30 June
GDP
$27.2 billion (1980), $18,390 per capita est.
Imports
$6.9 billion (f.o.b., 1980 est.); major suppliers—US, Japan, UK, West Germany
Major industries
crude petroleum production average for 1980, 1.7 million b/d; refinery production 123 million bbls (1980), average b/d refinery capacity equaled 645,000 bbls at end of 1976; other major industries include processing of fertilizers, chemicals; building materials; flour
Monetary conversion rate
1 Kuwaiti dinar=US$3.69 (1980)
Communications
Airfields
10 total, 6 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
19 major transport aircraft, including 2 leased in
Pipelines
crude oil, 877 km; refined products, 40 km; natural gas, 121 km
Ports
3 major (Ash Shuwaikh, Ash Shuaybah, Mina al Ahmadi), 4 minor
Railroads
none Highways: 2,545 km total; 2,255 km bituminous; 290 km earth, sand, light gravel
Telecommunications
excellent international and adequate domestic telecommunication facilities; 153,000 telephones (12.0 per 100 popl.); 3 AM, 1 FM, and 3 TV stations; 1 satellite station with Indian and Atlantic Ocean antennas
Military and Security
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 30 June 1981, $1,104 million; 6% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, about 383,000; about 232,000 fit for military service