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Kuwait

State of Kuwait

Geography
Area: 17,820 sq. km. (6,880 sq. mi.); approximately the size of the State of New Jersey.
Cities: Capital--Kuwait City.
Terrain: Almost entirely flat desert plain (highest elevation point--306 m).
Climate: Summers are intensely hot and dry with average highs ranging from 42o-49oC (108o-120oF); winters are short (Dec.-Feb.) and cool, averaging 10o-30oC (50o-80oF), with limited rain.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Kuwaiti(s).
Population (Dec. 2006 est.): 3,182,960, including approximately 1 million Kuwaiti citizens and 2 million non-Kuwaiti citizens.
Annual growth rate (2006 est.): 3.52%.
Ethnic groups: Kuwaiti 35%, other Arab 22%, non-Arab (primarily Asian) 39%, stateless Arabs (bidoon) 4%.
Religion: Muslim estimated 80% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30% among Kuwaitis), with sizable Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, and Sikh communities.
Languages: Arabic (official), English is widely spoken.
Education: Compulsory from ages 6-14; free at all levels for Kuwaitis, including higher education. Adult literacy (age 15 and over)--83.5% for the overall population (male 85.1%, female 81.7%), 91.2% for Kuwaitis (male 91.4%, female 90.8%).
Health: Infant mortality rate (2006 est.)--9.71 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy (2006 est.)--76.13 yrs. male, 78.31 yrs. female.
Work force (official figures as of December 31, 2006): 1.963 million (76% male; 24% female; 17% Kuwaiti citizens).

Government
Type: Constitutional hereditary emirate.
Independence: June 19, 1961 (from U.K.).
Constitution: Approved and promulgated November 11, 1962.
Branches: Executive--Amir (head of state); prime minister (head of government); Council of Ministers (cabinet) is appointed by prime minister and approved by the Amir. Legislative--unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-'Umma) of 50 elected members who serve 4-year terms plus all ministers, who serve as ex officio members. Judicial--High Court of Appeal.
Administrative subdivisions: Six governorates (muhafazat): Al 'Asimah, Hawalli, Al Ahmadi, Al Jahra', Mubarak Al-Kebir, and Al Farwaniyah.
Political parties: None; formal political parties have no legal status, although de facto political blocs exist.
Elections: There are no executive branch elections; the Amir is hereditary; prime minister and crown prince are appointed by the Amir. Legislative branch elections were last held June 29, 2006. Municipal Council elections were held on April 4, 2006.
Suffrage: Adult males and since May 16, 2005, adult females who are 21, have been citizens for 20 years, and are not in the security forces. In June 2006, women participated as voters and candidates in parliamentary elections for the first time.

Economy
GDP (2005 est.): $74.6 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2005): 8.5%.
Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, fish.
Agriculture (about 0.5% of GDP): With the exception of fish, most food is imported. Cultivated land--1%.
Industry (about 48% of GDP): Types--petroleum extraction and refining, fertilizer, chemicals, desalination, construction materials.
Services (about 52% of GDP): public administration, finance, real estate, trade, hotels and restaurants.
Trade (2005 est.): Exports --$46.87 billion: oil (93%). Major markets--Japan 17%, South Korea 13%, U.S. 11%, Singapore 10%, Pakistan 3%. Imports--$15.67 billion: food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing. Major suppliers--U.S. 13%, Germany 13%, Japan 8%, China 6%, United Kingdom 6%.

PEOPLE
Over 90% of the population lives within a 500-square kilometer area surrounding Kuwait City and its harbor. Although the majority of people residing in the State of Kuwait are of Arab origin, fewer than half are originally from the Arabian Peninsula. The discovery of oil in 1938 drew many Arabs from nearby states. Following the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in 1991, the Kuwaiti Government undertook a serious effort to reduce the expatriate population by specifically limiting the entry of workers from nations whose leaders had supported Iraq during the Gulf War. Kuwait later abandoned this policy, and it currently has a sizable foreign labor force (approximately 68% of the total population is non-Kuwaiti).

Of the country's total population of 3.1 million, approximately 80% are Muslims, including nearly all of its1.023 million citizens. While the national census does not distinguish between Sunni and Shi'a adherents, approximately 70-75 % of citizens, including the ruling family, belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. The remaining Kuwaiti citizens, with the exception of about 100-200 Christians and a few Baha'is, are Shi'a. The expatriate Christian population is estimated to be more than 400,000 residents. There also are communities of Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs.

Kuwait's 83.5% literacy rate, one of the Arab world's highest, is the result of extensive government support for the education system. Public school education, including Kuwait University, is free, but access is restricted for foreign residents. The government sponsors the foreign study of qualified students abroad for degrees not offered at Kuwait University. In 2004, approximately 1,720 Kuwaitis were enrolled in U.S. universities, down 6.8% from the previous year.

HISTORY
Archaeological finds on Failaka, the largest of Kuwait's nine islands, suggest that Failaka was a trading post at the time of the ancient Sumerians. Failaka appears to have continued to serve as a market for approximately 2,000 years, and was known to the ancient Greeks. Despite its long history as a market and sanctuary for traders, Failaka appears to have been abandoned as a permanent settlement in the 1st century A.D. Kuwait's modern history began in the 18th century with the founding of the city of Kuwait by the Uteiba, a subsection of the Anaiza tribe, who are believed to have traveled north from Qatar.

Threatened in the 19th century by the Ottoman Turks and various powerful Arabian Peninsula groups, Kuwait sought the same treaty relationship Britain had already signed with the Trucial States (UAE) and Bahrain. In January 1899, the ruler Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah--"the Great"--signed an agreement with the British Government that pledged himself and his successors neither to cede any territory, nor to receive agents or representatives of any foreign power without the British Government's consent, in exchange for protection and an annual subsidy. When Mubarak died in 1915, the population of Kuwait of about 35,000 was heavily dependent on shipbuilding (using wood imported from India) and pearl diving.

Mubarak was succeeded as ruler by his sons Jabir (1915-17) and Salim (1917-21). Kuwait's subsequent rulers have descended from these two brothers. Sheikh Ahmed al-Jabir Al Sabah ruled Kuwait from 1921 until his death in 1950, a period in which oil was discovered and in which the government attempted to establish the first internationally recognized boundaries; the 1922 Treaty of Uqair set Kuwait's border with Saudi Arabia and also established the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone, an area of about 5,180 sq. km. (2,000 sq. mi.) adjoining Kuwait's southern border.

Kuwait achieved independence from the British under Sheikh Ahmed's successor, Sheikh Abdullah al-Salim Al Sabah. By early 1961, the British had already withdrawn their special court system, which handled the cases of foreigners resident in Kuwait, and the Kuwaiti Government began to exercise legal jurisdiction under new laws drawn up by an Egyptian jurist. On June 19, 1961, Kuwait became fully independent following an exchange of notes with the United Kingdom.

Kuwait enjoyed an unprecedented period of prosperity under Amir Sabah al-Salim Al Sabah, who died in 1977 after ruling for 12 years. Under his rule, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement dividing the Neutral Zone (now called the Divided Zone) and demarcating a new international boundary. Both countries share equally the Divided Zone's petroleum, onshore and offshore. The country was transformed into a highly developed welfare state with a free market economy.

In August 1990, Iraq attacked and invaded Kuwait. Kuwait's northern border with Iraq dates from an agreement reached with Turkey in 1913. Iraq accepted this claim in 1932 upon its independence from Turkey. However, following Kuwait's independence in 1961, Iraq claimed Kuwait, arguing that Kuwait had been part of the Ottoman Empire subject to Iraqi suzerainty. In 1963, Iraq reaffirmed its acceptance of Kuwaiti sovereignty and the boundary it agreed to in 1913 and 1932, in the "Agreed Minutes between the State of Kuwait and the Republic of Iraq Regarding the Restoration of Friendly Relations, Recognition, and Related Matters."

Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a UN-mandated coalition led by the United States began a ground assault in February 1991 that liberated Kuwait. During the 7-month occupation by Iraq, the Amir, the Government of Kuwait, and many Kuwaitis took refuge in Saudi Arabia and other nations. The Amir and the government successfully managed Kuwaiti affairs from Saudi Arabia, London, and elsewhere during the period, relying on substantial Kuwaiti investments available outside Kuwait for funding and war-related expenses.

Following liberation, the UN, under Security Council Resolution 687, demarcated the Iraq-Kuwait boundary on the basis of the 1932 and the 1963 agreements between the two states. In November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait, which had been further spelled out in UN Security Council Resolutions 773 and 883.

Kuwait