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Kuwait
Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
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Background:
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Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti
AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was
attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks
of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault
on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent
more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during
1990-91.
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Location:
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Middle East, bordering the Arabian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia |
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Geographic coordinates:
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29 30 N, 45 45 E |
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Area:
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total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
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Coastline:
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499 km |
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm |
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Climate:
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dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters |
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Terrain:
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flat to slightly undulating desert plain |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Arabian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
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Natural resources:
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petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas |
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Land use:
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arable land: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0.17%
other: 98.99% (2005) |
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Irrigated land:
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130 sq km (2003) |
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Natural hazards:
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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 |
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Environment - current issues:
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limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and
most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water;
air and water pollution; desertification |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
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Geography - note:
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strategic location at head of Arabian Gulf
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Population:
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2,418,393
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2006 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 26.9% (male 331,768/female 319,895)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 1,085,721/female 613,746)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 42,460/female 24,803) (2006 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 25.9 years
male: 28 years
female: 22.3 years (2006 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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3.52%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis
immigration of expatriates (2006 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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21.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
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Death rate:
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2.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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15.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.71 male(s)/female
total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 9.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.72 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 77.2 years
male: 76.13 years
female: 78.31 years (2006 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.91 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
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Ethnic groups:
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Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% |
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Religions:
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Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other
15% |
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Languages:
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Arabic (official), English widely spoken |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.5%
male: 85.1%
female: 81.7% (2003 est.)
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Country name:
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conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait
local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt
local short form: Al Kuwayt |
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Government type:
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constitutional hereditary emirate |
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Capital:
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Kuwait |
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Administrative divisions:
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6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah,
Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir |
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Independence:
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19 June 1961 (from UK) |
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National holiday:
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National Day, 25 February (1950) |
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Constitution:
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approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 |
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Legal system:
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civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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adult males who are not in the military forces, and adult females (as
of 16 May 2005); all voters must have been citizens for 20 years |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29
January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Sabah
head of government: Prime Minister NASIR al-Muhammad al-Ahmad
al-Sabah (since 7 February 2006); First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR
Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006); Deputy Prime
Ministers MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006)
and Muhammad Dhayfallah SHARAR (since 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
and approved by the amir
elections: none; the amir is hereditary; prime minister and
deputy prime ministers appointed by the amir |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held in 2007)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - Islamists 21,
government supporters 14, liberals 3, independents 12; note - all
cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly |
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Judicial branch:
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High Court of Appeal |
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Political parties and leaders:
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none; formation of political parties is illegal |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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a number of political groups act as de facto parties; several
legislative blocs operate in the National Assembly: tribal groups,
merchants, Shi'a activists, Islamists, and secular liberals |
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International organization participation:
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ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW,
OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
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Flag description:
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three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a
black trapezoid based on the hoist side; design, which dates to 1961,
based on the Arab revolt flag of World War I
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Economy - overview:
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Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported
crude oil reserves of about 96 billion barrels - 10% of world
reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export
revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits
agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it
depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must
be distilled or imported. Kuwait continues its discussions with
foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the
country. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$53.31 billion (2005 est.) |
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GDP (official exchange rate):
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$55.8 billion (2005 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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5.6% (2005 est.) |
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GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$22,800 (2005 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 0.5%
industry: 52.1%
services: 47.4% (2005 est.) |
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Labor force:
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1.67 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2005
est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
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Unemployment rate:
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2.2% (2004 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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3.5% (2005 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed):
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6.6% of GDP (2005 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $47.21 billion
expenditures: $20.77 billion; including capital expenditures of
$NA (2005 est.) |
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Public debt:
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17.6% of GDP (2005 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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practically no crops; fish |
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Industries:
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petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair,
desalination, food processing, construction materials |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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-5% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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38.19 billion kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - consumption:
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35.52 billion kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2003) |
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Oil - production:
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2.418 million bbl/day (2005 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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305,000 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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1.97 million bbl/day (2003) |
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Oil - imports:
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NA bbl/day |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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96.5 billion bbl (2005 est.) |
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Natural gas - production:
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8.3 billion cu m (2003 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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8.3 billion cu m (2003 est.) |
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Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2002 est.) |
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Natural gas - imports:
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0 cu m (2002 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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1.572 trillion cu m (2005) |
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Current account balance:
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$31.51 billion (2005 est.) |
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Exports:
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$44.43 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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oil and refined products, fertilizers |
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Exports - partners:
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Japan 20.5%, South Korea 13.7%, US 12.4%, Singapore 11.3%, Taiwan 9.9%
(2004) |
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Imports:
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$12.23 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing |
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Imports - partners:
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US 12.9%, Germany 11.9%, Japan 7.9%, UK 5.5%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, Italy
5%, France 4.5%, China 4.1% (2004) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$9.296 billion (2005 est.) |
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Debt - external:
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$14.93 billion (2005 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$NA (2001) |
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Currency (code):
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Kuwaiti dinar (KD) |
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Exchange rates:
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Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298
(2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001) |
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Fiscal year:
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1 April - 31 March
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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497,000 (2004) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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2 million (2004) |
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Telephone system:
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general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: 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 cellular
telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well
supplied with pay telephones
international: country code - 965; coaxial cable and microwave
radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the
Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1
Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2
Arabsat |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.kw |
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Internet hosts:
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2,439 (2005) |
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Internet users:
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600,000 (2005)
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Airports:
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7 (2005) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2005) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (2005) |
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Heliports:
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4 (2005) |
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Pipelines:
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gas 169 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2004) |
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Roadways:
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total: 4,450 km
paved: 3,587 km
unpaved: 863 km (1999) |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,294,233 GRT/3,730,776 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5,
livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 20
foreign-owned: 1 (Iran 1)
registered in other countries: 29 (Bahrain 3, Comoros 1,
Liberia 1, Libya 1, Panama 2, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 6, UAE 8) (2005) |
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Ports and terminals:
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Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Az Zawr (Mina' Sa'ud), Mina' 'Abd Allah,
Mina' al Ahmadi
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Military branches:
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Land Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense Force), National
Guard (2002) |
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Military service age and obligation:
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18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; since
1999 women have served in police forces (2001) |
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Manpower available for military service:
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males age 18-49: 864,745
females age 18-49: 467,120 (2005 est.) |
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Manpower fit for military service:
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males age 18-49: 737,292
females age 18-49: 405,207 (2005 est.) |
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Manpower reaching military service age annually:
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males age 18-49: 18,743
females age 18-49: 20,065 (2005 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$3.01 billion (2005 est.) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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4.2% (2005 est.)
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