1992 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1992 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
Coastline
499 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than New Jersey
Continental shelf
not specific
Disputes
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
some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide most of water; air and water pollution; desertification
Land area
17,820 km2
Land boundaries
462 km; Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km
Land use
arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 8%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 92%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Natural resources
petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas
Note
strategic location at head of Persian Gulf
Terrain
flat to slightly undulating desert plain
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
17,820 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
32 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate
2 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Ethnic divisions
Kuwaiti 50%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 2%
Infant mortality rate
14 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Labor force
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
Arabic (official); English widely spoken
Life expectancy at birth
72 years male, 76 years female (1992)
Literacy
74% (male 78%, female 69%) age 15 and over can read and write (1985)
Nationality
noun - Kuwaiti(s); adjective - Kuwaiti
Net migration rate
NA migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Organized labor
labor unions exist in oil industry and among government personnel
Population
1,378,613 (July 1992), growth rate NA (1992)
Religions
Muslim 85% (Shi`a 30%, Sunni 45%, other 10%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%
Total fertility rate
4.4 children born/woman (1992)
Government
Administrative divisions
5 governorates (mu'hafaz'at, singular - muh'afaz'ah); Al Ah'madi, Al Jahrah, Al Kuwayt, 'Hawalli; Farwaniyah
Capital
Kuwait
Chief of State
Amir Shaykh JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 31 December 1977)
Constitution
16 November 1962 (some provisions suspended since 29 August 1962)
Diplomatic representation
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
amir, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side
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
Independence
19 June 1961 (from UK)
Judicial branch
High Court of Appeal
Legal system
civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
National Assembly (Majlis al `umma) dissolved 3 July 1986; elections for new Assembly scheduled for October 1992
Long-form name
State of Kuwait
Member of
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 Assembly
dissolved 3 July 1986; new elections are scheduled for October 1992
National holiday
National Day, 25 February
Other political or pressure groups
40,000 Palestinian community; small, clandestine leftist and Shi`a fundamentalist groups are active; several groups critical of government policies are active
Political parties and leaders
none
Suffrage
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
Type
nominal constitutional monarchy
Economy
Agriculture
virtually none; dependent on imports for food; about 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported
Budget
revenues $7.1 billion; expenditures $10.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (FY88)
Currency
Kuwaiti dinar (plural - dinars); 1 Kuwaiti dinar (KD) = 1,000 fils
Economic aid
donor - pledged $18.3 billion in bilateral aid to less developed countries (1979-89)
Electricity
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
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
$11.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989) commodities: oil 90% partners: Japan 19%, Netherlands 9%, US 8%, Pakistan 6%
External debt
$7.2 billion (December 1989 est.)
Fiscal year
1 July - 30 June
GDP
exchange rate conversion - $8.75 billion, per capita $6,200; real growth rate -50% (1991 est.)
Imports
$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 3% (1988); accounts for 52% of GDP
Industries
petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, building materials, salt, construction
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
NA
Overview
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
NA
Communications
Airports
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
9 major transport aircraft
Highways
3,900 km total; 3,000 km bituminous; 900 km earth, sand, light gravel
Merchant marine
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
crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 165 km
Ports
Ash Shu`aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Mina' al 'Ahmadi
Railroads
6,456 km total track length (1990); over 700 km double track; government owned
Telecommunications
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
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $9.17 billion, 20.4% of GDP (1992 budget)
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 389,770; 234,609 fit for military service; 12,773 reach military age (18) annually