KUWAIT                                                                          
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 17,820 km2; land area: 17,820 km2                                   
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey                              
                                                                                
Land boundaries: 462 km total; Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km                 
                                                                                
Coastline: 499 km                                                               
                                                                                
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Continental shelf: not specific;                                                
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 12 nm                                                          
                                                                                
Disputes: Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait from                         
2 August 1990 until 27 February 1991; in April 1991 official Iraqi              
acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 687, which demands that Iraq       
accept its internationally recognized border with Kuwait, ended earlier         
claims to Bubiyan and Warbah Islands or to all of Kuwait; ownership             
of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim Islands disputed by Saudi Arabia                    
                                                                                
Climate: dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters                 
                                                                                
Terrain: flat to slightly undulating desert plain                               
                                                                                
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas                         
                                                                                
Land use: arable land NEGL%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and                    
pastures 8%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 92%; includes irrigated           
NEGL%                                                                           
                                                                                
Environment: some of world's largest and most sophisticated                     
desalination facilities provide most of water; air and water pollution;         
desertification                                                                 
                                                                                
Note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf                                
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 2,204,400 (July 1991), growth rate 3.6% (1991)                      
                                                                                
Birth rate: 29 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 2 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: 10 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                         
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 15 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 76 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Kuwaiti(s); adjective--Kuwaiti                               
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: Kuwaiti 27.9%, other Arab 39%, South Asian 9%,                
Iranian 4%, other 20.1%                                                         
                                                                                
Religion:                                                                       
Muslim 85% (Shia 30%, Sunni 45%, other 10%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi,           
and other 15%                                                                   
                                                                                
Language: Arabic (official); English widely spoken                              
                                                                                
Literacy: 74% (male 78%, female 69%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write (1985)                                                           
                                                                                
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                                                     
                                                                                
Organized labor: labor unions exist in oil industry and among                   
government personnel                                                            
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: State of Kuwait                                                 
                                                                                
Type: nominal constitutional monarchy                                           
                                                                                
Capital: Kuwait                                                                 
                                                                                
Administrative divisions: 4 governorates (muhafazat,                            
singular--muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Jahrah, Al Kuwayt,                          
Hawalli; note--there may be a new governorate of Farwaniyyah                    
                                                                                
Independence: 19 June 1961 (from UK)                                            
                                                                                
Constitution: 16 November 1962 (some provisions suspended since 29              
August 1962)                                                                    
                                                                                
Legal system: civil law system with Islamic law significant in                  
personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction                  
                                                                                
National holiday: National Day, 25 February                                     
                                                                                
Executive branch: amir, prime minister, deputy prime minister,                  
Council of Ministers (cabinet)                                                  
                                                                                
Legislative branch: National Assembly (Majlis al Umma) dissolved                
3 July 1986                                                                     
                                                                                
Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal                                           
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State--Amir Shaykh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-SABAH                    
(since 31 December 1977);                                                       
                                                                                
Head of Government--Prime Minister and Crown Prince Sad                         
al-Abdallah al-Salim al-SABAH (since 8 February 1978); Deputy                   
Prime Minister Salim al-Sabah al-Salim al-SABAH                                 
                                                                                
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 8.3% are            
eligible to vote and only 3.5% actually vote                                    
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
National Assembly--dissolved 3 July 1986; new elections are                     
scheduled for October 1992                                                      
                                                                                
Communists: insignificant                                                       
                                                                                
Other political or pressure groups: large (150,000) Palestinian                 
community; several small, clandestine leftist and Shia fundamentalist           
groups are active; prodemocracy opposition                                      
                                                                                
Member of: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO,                
G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, 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                                                             
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Shaykh Saud Nasir al-SABAH;               
Chancery at 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington DC 20008;                         
telephone (202) 966-0702;                                                       
                                                                                
US--Ambassador Edward (Skip) GNEHM; Embassy at Bneid al-Gar                     
(opposite the Hilton Hotel), Kuwait City (mailing address is P. O. Box 77       
Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait City); telephone  965  242-4151 through 4159         
                                                                                
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and                   
red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side                              
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
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 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 sabotaging key surface          
facilities. Western firefighters had brought about 140 of the 600               
oil well fires and blowouts under control as of early June 1991.                
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.                          
                                                                                
GDP: $19.8 billion, per capita $9,700; real growth rate 3.5%                    
(1989)                                                                          
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% (1989)                                   
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 0% (1989)                                                    
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $7.1 billion; expenditures $10.5 billion,                      
including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (FY88)                           
                                                                                
Exports: $11.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989);                                          
                                                                                
commodities--oil 90%;                                                           
partners--Japan, Italy, FRG, US                                                 
                                                                                
Imports: $6.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--food, construction materials, vehicles and parts,                  
clothing;                                                                       
                                                                                
partners--Japan, US, FRG, UK                                                    
                                                                                
External debt: $7.2 billion (December 1989 est.)                                
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1988); accounts for                      
52% of GDP                                                                      
                                                                                
Electricity: 8,290,000 kW capacity; 10,000 million kWh produced,                
5,000 kWh per capita (1989)                                                     
                                                                                
Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food                       
processing, salt, construction                                                  
                                                                                
Agriculture: virtually none; dependent on imports for food; about               
75% of potable water must be distilled or imported                              
                                                                                
Economic aid: donor--pledged $18.3 billion in bilateral aid to less             
developed countries (1979-89)                                                   
                                                                                
Currency: Kuwaiti dinar (plural--dinars);                                       
1 Kuwaiti dinar (KD) = 1,000 fils                                               
                                                                                
Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US$1--0.2915 (January                   
1990), 0.2937 (1989), 0.2790 (1988), 0.2786 (1987), 0.2919 (1986), 0.3007       
(1985)                                                                          
                                                                                
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June                                                     
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Highways: 3,000 km total; 2,500 km bituminous; 500 km earth, sand,              
light gravel                                                                    
                                                                                
Pipelines: crude oil, 877 km; refined products, 40 km; natural gas,             
165 km                                                                          
                                                                                
Ports: Ash Shuaybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Mina al Ahmadi                               
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over), totaling 1,332,159               
GRT/2,099,303 DWT; includes 1 cargo, 4 livestock carrier,                       
20 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 5 liquefied gas, 1 bulk;       
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;              
Kuwaiti tankers are currently managed from London and Kuwaiti cargo and         
container ships are managed from Dubai                                          
                                                                                
Civil air: 19 major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
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                                                 
                                                                                
Telecommunications: excellent international, adequate domestic                  
facilities; 258,000 telephones; stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 3 TV; satellite           
earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT; 1       
INMARSAT, 1 ARABSAT; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq and Saudi            
Arabia                                                                          
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National                
Guard                                                                           
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 738,812; 441,611 fit for                    
military service; 19,452 reach military age (18) annually                       
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $1.1 billion, 4.8% of GDP (1990)                          
                                                                                
